House Sealed After Pet Cobra Vanishes

A German house has been sealed off for two months while authorities wait for a missing cobra to starve. The house was ripped apart last week when an amateur snake handler, 19, reported his pet missing. Authorities found no trace of the cobra, despite installing cameras and trying to trap it with double-sided tape, Der Speigel reports.

Authorities decided the only option was to evacuate all the house's occupants, seal off all exits, and wait for the creature to expire. "We probably won't find the snake even in a hundred years," a fire department spokesman said. "No matter what we do." The cobra's owner is likely to have to foot a bill of well over $50,000 for the snake hunt.
(More snake stories.)