Remembering Raleigh’s escaped spitting cobra drama of a year ago as city backs new rules
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Snake scare in Raleigh, and the aftermath
In the summer of 2021, a venomous zebra cobra was on the loose in a North Raleigh neighborhood, an incident that captured the region’s attention. The incident prompted the city of Raleigh to enact a new exotic animal ordinance. Here is coverage from The News & Observer.
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In late June and early July a year ago, Raleigh residents scooped their toddlers and pets off the streets and watched nervously from inside their homes after an exotic zebra cobra was reported missing.
The venomous reptile eventually turned up under a porch, forcing snake-catching experts to patiently wait armed with glue traps and tongs.
But the snake’s owner had other slithering surprises in the basement of his parent’s suburban North Raleigh home.
On Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council voted for new rules to outlaw “dangerous wild animals.” Another vote is set for July 5, with the ban going into effect 60 days after the ordinance is adopted.
Here’s a timeline of last year’s cobra drama.
June 28, 2021
The missing cobra, known to spit at people when cornered, is first spotted on Sandringham Drive around 5 p.m., forcing Raleigh police to block off the street and issue an advisory.
June 29
While waiting for the cobra to emerge, police and animal control officers arrive at a house on nearby Chamonix Drive, where Christopher Gifford lives with his parents and posts numerous social media videos of venomous snakes.
Police leave the house carrying a large red bucket.
June 30
It becomes clear through a Facebook post that Gifford, 21, suffered a near-fatal bite from a green mamba snake only a few months before.
In further examinations of his TikTok account, Gifford is shown to keep numerous venomous snakes in the basement of his home, sometimes appearing in the back yard with an uncaged cobra.
“Gotta love having a cobra,” he says in one. “It’s sick. I mean, how often can you say that I get to play with my cobra? Every day.”
Later that night, the escaped zebra cobra is captured. A WakeMed emergency physician who assisted described laying glue traps for the hiding snake, capturing it with tongs.
July 6
Raleigh Councilman David Knight says he will propose an ordinance to restrict dangerous animals.
July 8
Gifford, facing 36 charges of keeping snakes in improper enclosures and three more for mislabeling them, says through an attorney that Raleigh’s animal control officers inspected his home and found it in full compliance.
Gifford’s attorney also said the zebra cobra had escaped in November, which her client had informed authorities. But Wake County’s district attorney noted that one of the charges stems from failing to tell law enforcement about the escape when it occurred.
Aug. 6
Gifford pleads guilty to failing to report the missing snake and agrees to pay more than $13,000 in restitution.
He also agreed to give up his snakes, worth about $35,000.
“It was a huge mistake,” he says in court.
This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Remembering Raleigh’s escaped spitting cobra drama of a year ago as city backs new rules."
