The sneaky king cobra was captured only to slither away from zoo staff once again (Picture: AP)
A deadly king cobra which had finally been tracked down after escaping has slithered away from captors for the second time.
The poisonous snake, which is usually housed at a zoo in Sweden, forced the closure of the attraction last week when staff noticed the mysterious disappearance.
After six days of frantic searching, he was eventually found and placed in a supposedly secure enclosure at Skansen Aquarium in Stockholm’s Djurgarden island.
But it seems the cobra is no fan of being kept behind glass because yet again he is out on the loose.
Desperate zoo staff are now getting ready for a second recapture of the reptile after isolating him in the terrarium area.
The snake, which has the apt name of ‘Houdini’ though is officially called Sir Vass (Sir Hiss) is a relative newcomer to the zoo but has already been running rings around zoo staff.
Skansen Aquarium director Jonas Wahlström said: ‘He won’t come out – in theory, it’s so cold outside that he would fall asleep.
‘He must be a smart guy. The old lamps were too hot, which kept the snakes away.’
The king cobra is a newcomer to the zoo but has been running rings around staff (Picture: AP)
King cobras are some of the deadliest reptiles on the planet (Picture: AP)
The staff believe he squeezed himself out of a gap located around new energy-saving bulbs installed inside the enclosure.
The zoo, had previously used an older model of lightbulb thought to have prevented previous escapes by emitting heat.
He was only found the first time around because customs officers brought in x-ray machines and wire cameras usually used in drugs busts, to trace him inside a wall cavity.
King cobras are some of the most deadly and poisonous reptiles in the wild and they can range from three to five metres in length.
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The poisonous reptile has been running rings around the zoo staff.