There's a good chance you've heard about the deadly snake — a 20-inch female Egyptian cobra — that was reported missing at the Bronx Zoo over the weekend.
But there's an even better chance you've heard about the hysterical fake Twitter feed — replete with the slithery @BronxZoosCobra handle and location ("I'm not at the Bronx Zoo") — that was created for it.
The Twitter feed, created by an anonymous user on Monday, has amassed more than 150,000 followers in three days with frequent updates about its adventures in and around Manhattan (sample tweet: "Holding very still in the snake exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. This is gonna be hilarious!"), pop culture ("Anyone know if Rebecca Black lives in NYC? No reason") and send-ups of popular New York tourist traps ("Enjoying a cupcake @magnoliabakery. This is going straight to my hips. Oh, wait. I don't have hips. Yesss!").
The feed has captured the attention of some high-profile Twitter users — Ellen Degeneres and Steve Martin among them — has been profiled by every major television news channel, in Vanity Fair and the New York Times, and even got a shout-out from Mayor Bloomberg on Tuesday during President Obama's brief visit to the city.
I attempted to bait the snake — the tweeting one — with a fake Twitter account (@BronxZoosMice), but so far no bite. (If the Bronx Zoo cobra had a Foursquare account, it'd be easier to find.)
Alas, "BronxZoosCobra" joins an esteemed list of popular fake Twitter feeds — from Christopher Walken to Jeff Zucker to Rahm Emanuel.
The operators of those accounts were eventually outed, but until Bronx Zoo officials find the real cobra, the fake one is likely follow in its elusive trail.
That is, unless the inevitable book deal comes along.
Slide on, you crazy snake.
