Cobra makes her debut at Bronx Zoo

Kids visiting the Bronx Zoo went wild for Mia, the cobra who shot to fame after a one-week disappearing act, when the reptile house opened to the public Saturday for the first time since she was found.

"I want to see the famous snake," a little girl said at the zoo's entrance.

Young fans of Mia, or "missing in action," the moniker that received the most votes in a naming contest, crowded around her glass enclosure. Mia greeted them by lazily raising her head.

The snake, whose elusiveness made headlines, was found March 31 in a dark corner of the reptile house. Mia's unofficial Twitter account had 239,000 followers.

The 3-ounce, 20-inch Egyptian cobra was much smaller than she appeared on the news, many children said.

At the Bronx Zoo store, snake fanatic Gavin Hamlet, 6, waved two cobra toys he wanted as souvenirs.

The toys may serve as consolation prizes for Gavin, who was disappointed in the naming contest results, said his mother, Rose Hamlet, 36, of North Salem.

"I wanted them to name the snake after me," Gavin said.

Katie Carazo, 21, of Point Lookout, said the poisonous cobra deserved all the publicity she got.