3-year-old Australian snake handler gets lucky

An Australian 3-year-old is fortunate to be alive after the eggs he collected weeks ago hatched into venomous snakes inside the nest he made for them in his bedroom cupboard, dpa reported. "He's extremely lucky that his mother found them before he opened up the container and played with them," wildlife officer Trish Prendergast told Brisbane's Courier Mail on Thursday. "Otherwise, he may not be with us today." Kyle Cummings of Townsville, a city on the coast of the north-eastern state of Queensland, had unknowingly incubated a clutch of eastern brown snakes - ranked second to the inland taipan in the rankings of the most venomous snakes on earth. Kyle's mother, Donna Sim, told the newspaper that she knew about the eggs but was astonished when they hatched into seven eastern browns. "I was pretty shocked, particularly because I don't like snakes," she said. Kyle's sister, Shannon Sim, said her brother loved animals and wanted to be like outdoors survival expert and television presenter Bear Grylls. "He's a real country boy," Shannon Sim said. "He was a bit sorry to see them go. He wanted to keep them."