Exotic venomous snake found within Wichita Falls city limits

“Dealing with the snakes that I deal with on a regular basis, this snake was very relaxed, not hard to deal with at all.”

By Tucker Roberts
Published: Mar. 11, 2026 at 11:18 PM EDT

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Last week, Wichita Falls Animal Services was called to assist the Wichita Falls Police Department with a residence in violation of City Ordinance 14-8: Keeping venomous reptiles within city limits. ... “So they went, and they found a cobra in a container. The snake was not loose. They brought it back to the shelter,” said Diann Bowman, the Animal Care & Adoption Supervisor at Animal Services.

While Animal Control has housed pet snakes and dealt with rattlesnakes around this time of year, in Bowman’s nine years working with Animal Services, she’s never seen a cobra here before. ... “Sometimes we get pythons and boa constrictors, you know, snakes that people have as pets, snakes that you can legally have as pets,” said Bowman.

Since this snake isn’t native to Texas, the city called Nathan Hawkins, the owner of Big Country Snake Removal, who identified the snake as a Siamese Spitting Cobra, which is naturally found in Southeast Asia. Hawkins will be rehoming this exotic cobra to his Serpentarium in Abilene, where he houses over 200 snakes. ... “This snake will be on display there in three months. We have a 90-day quarantining process. Texas Parks and Wildlife does inspections on our facility and have approved it,” said Hawkins. “It’s an actual zoo. We’re not just like some guy on the street having snakes. This is a legitimate business.”

For residents worried about a spitting cobra running wild, Hawkins argues that these foreign snakes would not last long outside captivity. ... “The snake would not survive here if it, like, got loose or anything,” Hawkins said. “The snake would die rather quickly.” ... Officials at Animal Services said if you ever do encounter a venomous snake, remain at a safe distance and give them a call at 940-761-7824, and they’ll handle it from there.

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