Brazilian woman finds son petting alligator behind sofa

AFTER floodwaters receded from her home, a Brazilian woman was shocked to find a most unwelcome house guest: a 5-foot alligator lying tamely in the living room as her three-year-old son petted the reptile’s head.

The animal was washed inside by the high water on Monday night, said Luiz Claudio Farias, a captain of firefighters in the north-central city of Parauapebas.

When the woman went to clean up the following day, she saw the boy playing with something behind the couch, Farias said. It turned out to be an alligator.