(CNN) If you happen to see a 3½-foot-long snake slithering around the Bronx Zoo in New York, have no fear. It's only "mildly venomous."

Come again?

It sounds scary, but zoo officials said the mangrove snake that somehow slithered loose from its display poses no threat to visitors.

It's probably more scared of you, anyway.

"Mangrove snakes, though mildly venomous, are not known to be dangerous to people. They are shy, timid, secretive in nature and active at night," the zoo said in a statement.

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