Bronx Zoo deadly escaped Egyptian Cobra is found alive after 6 days on the lam

Snakes alive! - the cobra has been found.

The Bronx Zoo's escaped snake was snared in the House of Reptiles on Thursday, six days after she slithered out of her enclosure.

"We found our snake and we're very happy," Jim Breheny, the zoo's director, told the Daily News.

The fanged fugitive was spotted coiled in a corner around 9 a.m., during one of three daily sweeps by a half-dozen zoo workers.

Using special tongs and hooks, they easily apprehended the deadly Egyptian cobra, which is now under observation.

"We knew it was going to be a game of patience. We set the place up to make it easier to search," Breheny said.

Contrary to one report, the zoo did not set any traps with mice for the snake. It simply kept the Reptile House dark and quiet.

"We wanted to just let her feel comfortable," he said. "We did everything we could to help her feel secure."

The snake escaped from a fiberglass box with a sliding glass front while no one was around.

"Clearly she finagled her way out of the enclosure," Breheny said of the cold-blooded Houdini.

Zoo officials are now reviewing the safety of the enclosures and plan to reopen the Reptile House soon.

The cobra will eventually go on exhibit - which should be a big draw, given its notoriety.

The hunt for the missing adolescent made headlines across the globe and prompted either anxiety or amusement from New Yorkers.

An anonymous wit even created a Twitter feed chronicling the reptile's made-up misadventures - and picked up nearly 200,000 followers, from Mayor Bloomberg to Ellen DeGeneres.

All along, zoo officials said they were confident the pencil-thin 20-inch-long reptile was still somewhere in the House of Reptiles, not roaming the city.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/31/2011-03-31_bronx_zoos_deadly_escaped_egyptian_cobra_is_caught__near_the_reptile_house.html#ixzz1IE7hSLGX

3-year-old child considered England's youngest alcoholic... ever

A hard-drinking 3-year-old has been diagnosed as Britain's youngest ever alcoholic.

Doctors treated the unnamed child for withdrawal systems after the toddler suffered the shakes and wild mood swings.

Experts suspect the youngster would have to have been given booze repeatedly over at least a six-month period to develop such a dependency.

"To be diagnosed an alcoholic ... they would have had to ingest enough to cause withdrawal symptoms," Nicolay Sorenson of advocacy group Alcohol Concern told The Telegraph.

"Whatever the circumstances, it is a truly horrifying case and raises very serious child protection issues."

The youngster was one of 13 people under the age of 12 who were diagnosed as alcoholics by Britain's National Health Service between 2008 and 2010.

"We treat alcohol abuse very seriously, and have specialist teams and experts on hand who are there to treat young patients with alcohol-related problems," said an NHS spokeswoman.

Health officials declined to give details of the 3-year-old's condition or disclose the toddler's identity due to patient confidentiality rules.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/03/15/2011-03-15_3yearold_considered_englands_youngest_alcoholic_ever.html#ixzz1Gh2Afmoy

Toxin found in sardines that clogged US marina

LOS ANGELES – The millions of sardines that were found floating dead in a Southern California marina this week tested positive for a powerful neurotoxin, researchers said Friday.

High levels of domoic acid were found in the sardines, which may have distressed them off the Los Angeles coastline and caused them to swim into the Redondo Beach marina, University of Southern California biologist David Caron wrote in a summary of his laboratory's findings which were reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Caron said that he still believes that critically low oxygen levels in the water caused the sardines to suffocate, but it's possible the toxin may have been one explanation for why they crowded into the marina.The California Department of Fish and Game has blamed the die-off on oxygen deprivation and is also testing fish for toxins at its animal forensics laboratory. Results are not expected until next week.Domoic acid is often found in the stomach of fish that have been feeding on plankton during toxic algae blooms. The toxin has been linked to neurological disorders, illnesses and deaths in seabirds, sea lions, sea otters and whales. Caron's lab is working to determine if the poisoning was caused by a toxic algae bloom spotted off Redondo Beach on Wednesday.

The presence of the toxin in the sardines could lead to health complications for pelicans, gulls and other sea life that have been feasting on the dead fish. "There were tons of birds feeding on these fish and it's conceivable that we'll see some bird mortality as a result," Caron said. The fish died late Monday and carpeted the water's surface the next morning, stacking up to 2 feet deep in some places. Crews have already scooped and hauled away more than 85 tons of fish to a composting center where they will turn into fertilizer.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110312/ap_on_re_us/us_fish_die_off

H.S. student Zhanna Smsarian charged after she splashed classmate with acid to 'burn her eyes out'

Zhanna Smsarian, 16, leaves Brooklyn Criminal Court after her arraignment for allegedly throwing acid on her classmate during chemistry class.

A Brooklyn teen, irate over a classmate's play for a mutual male friend, tried to blind the girl by splashing her with acid during chemistry class, authorities said Thursday.

Sobbing suspect Zhanna Smsarian, 16, was freed Thursday on $7,500 bail for the attack one day earlier on Albina Eshimbaeva, 15, in the first-floor lab at Fort Hamilton High School.

The suspect told a police officer she "was trying to burn Eshimbaeva's eyes out," according to court documents.

The pair were friends before their falling out over a 22-year-old Staten Island man who had briefly dated Eshimbaeva.

The older man said they went out for a week before breaking up - and then the trouble began.

"[Eshimbaeva] was stalking me," said the Egyptian-American man. The spurned teen also mistook his friendship with Smsarian as romance, the man said, creating further tension.

The man told his woes to Smsarian, who assured him that she would handle things.

"I told her to do what she had to do, but I didn't expect her to throw acid," said the man, whose name is Mohammad.

Doctors who treated Eshimbaeva said the teen could have been blinded. Instead, she only suffered skin irritation because the diluted solution contained just 10% acid, sources said.

After Smsarian emptied the acidic bottle on her adversary just before the bell rang, a teacher quickly flushed Eshimbaeva with water.

She was rushed to the burn unit at Staten Island University Hospital and was later released.

"They made a fake fire drill, and got everybody out of the school," said student Mohammad Elashry, 15. "They took us out the sides. Then the cops came in, and took her out the front."

Smsarian, a volleyball player for the school team, told a police officer she "was trying to burn Eshimbaeva's eyes out," according to court documents.

The tall teen, an ROTC member still wearing her fatigues, was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court for attempted assault and a slew of other charges.

"She's never been in any problems before," her lawyer Igor Vaysberg told the judge. "She's an honor roll student with excellent grades."

Her parents, Vaysberg said, were "destroyed."

A Department of Education spokeswoman said the school has also taken disciplinary action against Smsarian.

oyaniv@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/03/10/2011-03-10_16yearold_zhanna_smsarian_charged_after_she_splashed_classmate_with_acid_to_burn.html#ixzz1GFaz42lE