Cobra-bitten woman probed for snake story

BALTIMORE, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Maryland police say they are investigating a Baltimore-area woman's claim she came across a cobra, which bit her finger, in a shopping mall parking lot.

The monocled cobra, a species normally found in Southeast Asia, "would have been frozen if it were outside," Dr. Kim Hammond, a veterinarian with an animal hospital that helped coordinate part of a search for special anti-venom to save the woman, told The Baltimore Sun.

Cobras and other snakes are cold-blooded, unable to internally regulate their own body temperature, so it approximates that of the environment, he said.

Snake experts also said finger bites typically happen when snake handlers are careless during feeding, the newspaper said.

The unidentified woman -- who eventually got the special anti-venom from the Philadelphia Zoo -- said she picked up the deadly snake because she thought it was a stick, the Sun reported.

She didn't explain why she would pick up a stick in a parking lot.

After being bitten, the woman brought the 2-foot-long cobra with her in a bag to a walk-in clinic, Baltimore Fire Department spokeswoman Elise Armacost told the newspaper.

Monocled cobras can grow to 6 feet and are typically brown or black. On the back of their hood is a circular pattern that resembles a large eye, or monocle.

A Maryland law "prohibits the possession or importation of venomous snakes," state Department of Natural Resources Police Sgt. Art Windemuth told the Sun.

Violators face misdemeanor charges and a fine up to $1,000, he said.