A routine mail inspection at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Mail Facility prompted the discovery of five deadly snakes, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a press release Tuesday.
Bound for the United States from Hong Kong via Express Mail were a group of juvenile King Cobras and a trio of Geckos.
Officials were alerted to the possibility of a slithering problem after an x-ray showed what appeared to be snakes in a round, plastic container. Once the suspicion was confirmed, Border Patrol seized the snakes and turned them over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for further investigation.
King Cobras take the cake for being the biggest of all venomous snakes, with adults reaching lengths of up to 18 feet. In addition to their massive size and infamous ability to raise their bodies to appear even larger, King Cobras can also “emit a bone-chilling hiss that sounds almost like a growling dog,” according to National Geographic. The icing on the cake? The neurotoxin present in a single King Cobra bite is powerful enough to kill a full-grown elephant.
[ U.S. Customs and Border Protection ]
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