Alligator in house

A Brazilian woman was shocked to find an alligator behind the settee after floodwaters receded from her home.

Her three-year-old son was happily petting the 5ft reptile's head as it lay tamely in her living room.

The alligator was washed inside by floods in the city of Parauapebas.

The woman saw the boy playing with something behind the couch as she cleaned up the following day and had been shocked to find it was an alligator.

Firefighters were able to trap the alligator and take it to a nearby environmental preserve, where they set it free.

Cities in this region were built very near rivers and the rainforests, so it is not uncommon to see animals like alligators and snakes entering people's houses.