The community of Thousand Oaks in Southern California breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday when animal control workers managed to capture a deadly albino cobra that was on the loose for many days.

Animal control officer Fred Agoopi said that the cobra tried to attack them but they were able to handle it with proper equipment they had. Various TV reports showed animal control officers using a long-handled tong-like grabber to capture the snake from a pile of scrap in a backyard.

They put the snake in a long wooden box, which was later taken to an animal shelter.

Sharing the cobra-capturing experiencing, Agoopi said, "Once we grabbed it, it was afraid of us so it tried to strike at us. But we had the proper equipment and were able to handle it."

Brandon Dowling, a spokesperson for Los Angeles County, said they were are overjoyed and glad that the snake didn't harm any member of the public.

But, later experts found that the snake is not an albino as it was being believed to be; rather it is the white monocled cobra, which is native to parts of India, China and some other countries of Southeast Asia. These snakes can grow up to 4 feet or more in length.

Ian Recchio, curator of reptiles at the Los Angeles Zoo, said that the animal is in fact leucistic, which means it lacks all pigment but has blue eyes instead of the red eyes that albinos normally have.