Residents of a housing block in Herne in Germany's northwest clapped on Friday evening as firefighters took away the monocled cobra that had been on the loose for most of the week. Around 30 of them had been forced to evacuate their houses to avoid meeting the highly venomous animal.

"It's finally gone and we can go back inside," local resident Collin Bleck told the DPA news agency.

A woman first spotted the cobra, estimated to be about 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) in length, in a stairwell of a residential building on Sunday. City officials believe the reptile likely escaped from an enclosure in one man's apartment, where the authorities discovered 20 more venomous snakes. The man denies that the monocled cobra came from his collection.

'It moved and tried to hide'

The sighting prompted the authorities to evacuate the building and several other homes in area. Officials blocked pipes and drains in some of the apartments and spread flour around the buildings in the hope that the reptile would leave a trail.

The cobra (partially visible below the door in the photo) was first spotted by a building resident

Firefighters meticulously searched the area, but without success.

On Friday afternoon, however, a municipal worker spotted a "yellow-goldish animal" while moving the lawn in front of the building where the snake had been seen on Sunday. The snake was startled by the noise made by the lawn mower and fled towards the basement entrance.

"It moved and tried to hide," the 52-year-old worker Andreas Wilczek told the DPA news agency.

"I see snakes pretty often, but it was a shock for me," he added.

Record-breaking snakes The most venomous snake The inland taipan produces the most toxic venom in the snake kingdom. Researchers estimate that one bite could kill more than 100 men. The taipan's venom is specially adapted to kill warm-blooded animals. It affects the nervous system, the blood and the muscles. The species lives in semi-arid regions in Australia and is strictly protected.

Record-breaking snakes The deadliest snake Though its venom only kills one out of 10 untreated people, the aggressiveness of this snake means it bites quickly and often. This is why the saw-scaled viper is considered the world's deadliest snake, killing the most people. Venomous snakes have diamond-shaped pupils, like cats. Non-venomous snakes have round pupils, like humans. But remember: there is no rule without exceptions!

Record-breaking snakes The largest snake The green anaconda is the largest snake in the world. Living in the dark, deep waters of the South American jungle, some anacondas have been reported to be up to 8.8 meters (29 feet) long. The average anaconda is only about 4 meters long. They are very robust snakes and packed with muscles which they use to kill their prey by wrapping around it and slowly suffocating it.

Record-breaking snakes Even larger The green anaconda is nothing compared to the titanoboa. This pre-historic snake was a true giant. The photo shows a python creeping over a single vertebra of titanoboa cerrejonensis discovered in Colombia. Fossils suggest titanoboas could grow up to 13 meters long and weigh 1,135 kilograms (2502 pounds). Like the green anaconda, they probably lived in or very close to water, 40 million years ago.

Record-breaking snakes The smallest snake The Barbados threadsnake is about 10 centimeters long and, according to its discoverer "about as wide as a spaghetti noodle." It feeds on termites and ant larvae and is found only on the Caribbean island of Barbados. S. Blair Hedges, a herpetologist from Pennsylvania State University, discovered the species in 2008.

Record-breaking snakes The greediest snake Snakes have a flexible lower jaw that enables them to swallow animals twice their own size. But sometimes even that is too much for them. In 2005, in the Everglades National Park in Florida, a python exploded after trying to swallow a whole alligator. The snake was found with the alligator's tail sticking out of its midsection. Seems like someone got a bit greedy.

Record-breaking snakes A master of camouflage Just a leaf? No, it's a gaboon viper. The form and color of its head resembles a leaf perfectly, enabling the ambush predator to wait patiently for prey coming by in the African rainforests. It has the longest fangs of all snakes - up to 5 centimeters (2 inches) - and is also very venomous. The snake is not at all aggressive, though. Only very few people are bitten by it.

Record-breaking snakes The sneakiest snake This guy, the scarlet kingsnake, is non-venomous. But it doesn't want other animals to know that. So it mimics the venomous coral snake which has the same tricolored pattern of black, red and white. It's a sneaky way to tell predators to get lost.

Record-breaking snakes Most water-loving snake Snakes are everywhere - you can even find them at a coral reef. Some of those sea snakes are really venomous. Unlike fish, they do not have gills and need to get up to the surface regularly to breathe. Sea snakes can grow up to 3 meters (9.8 feet), but the majority only grows up to 1.5 meters. This species, the banded sea snake, regularly returns to land to digest its food, rest and reproduce.

Record-breaking snakes Snakes that fly This snake can propel itself forward by thrusting its body up and away from a tree. That's why it is commonly known as the "flying snake." It curls itself up to resemble the form of a frisbee and glide up to 30 meters wide from tree to tree. Its biological name is Chrysopelea and it feeds on lizards, rodents, birds and even bats. But it's harmless to humans. Author: Brigitte Osterath, Sophia Wagner



Caught in a noose

Wilczek alerted his supervisor who reported the sighting to the authorities. Eventually, a snake expert arrived to the scene and managed to isolate the cobra on one of the steps leading to the basement. He then used a noose to capture it.

"Nobody was injured," city officials said on Twitter.

Local police representative Johannes Chudziak told reporters that the animal would likely only survive for a few weeks on its own, as temperatures in Germany are expected to drop below its comfort zone.

Officials will now probe if the Asian snake came from the enclosure belonging to one of the residents. All other snakes have been removed from his apartment.

dj/rt (dpa, AFP)

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