International

A 17-month-old boy bit and killed a poisonous snake he found in the yard of his family's house in Mostardas, a coastal city in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state, Radio Gaucha reported on Monday.

The boy, whose name is Lorenzo, was playing on Sunday afternoon in the house's concrete-covered yard in an urban area where snakes are rarely seen, relatives said.

The child was immediately taken to a Mostardas hospital due to fears that he had been bitten by the snake, but doctors could not find any injuries or symptoms of poisoning, concluding that the boy was in good health.

Doctors at Sao Luiz Hospital took pictures of the snake and are trying to have a research center identify the species.

Jaine Ferreira, the boy's mother, told the radio station that Lorenzo was so quiet for a while that she went out to see what he was doing and found him with the snake in his mouth and the animal still struggling to get loose.

The boy had blood in his mouth and on his hands, and acted as if the snake was one of his toys, refusing to release the animal, Ferreira said, adding that she needed help from her husband to force the child to open his mouth. EFE