Australian Kyle Cummings had found a small collection of eggs in
his garden, which later hatched into a mass of deadly snakes.
Reptile carer Trish Prendergast said that Cummings could have
been killed if he had handled the eastern brown snakes - the
world's most venomous species on land after Australia's Inland
Taipan. She went on to say: "He had no idea what kind of eggs
they were. "He put the eggs into a plastic takeout food
container and stashed them in his bedroom cupboard, where his
horrified mother, Donna Sim, found them. "Seven had hatched, but
the snakes remained trapped under the container's lid. The
remaining two eggs were probably infertile and were rotten."
Eastern brown snakes, which may grow to more than six and a half
feet long, usually stay with their eggs but sometimes leave for
short periods in order to feed. Prendergast said: "He's very
lucky he didn't encounter the mother while he was taking her
eggs. That also could have been fatal." The boy's mother told
the Townsville Bulletin newspaper