the run since -- he wasn't on the run, he's missing since friday. the 20-inch egyptian cobra has venom strong enough to kill a human but then zoo insists it's probably hiding out somewhere. nbc's peter alexander live in new york city at the bronx zoo. incredib incredible. if the cobra get hungry, that cobra will venture out. >> reporter: it's safe to say, it's not on the run, maybe on the slither, at least for the last five day flouz. they believe it is locked inside a safe, nonpublic area of the reptile house. easy to say, not comfortable to hear. they have locked off that area, so it's closed to the public. in a dark, warm space, they say. when it gets hungry and thirsty, that's when they hope to catch it. this story has evolved. darwin would be proud, the snake story has grown legs. it's online all over the place with someone tweeting as the bronx zoo's cobra, 55,000