Nicely, that is true! Mendacity about 93 miles off the coast of São Paulo, Brazil, Ilha da Queimada Grande, or ‘The Snake Island’ is a forbidden paradise teeming with probably the most venomous snakes on this planet, the golden lancehead viper.This mystery- and danger-filled distant island is inhabited by 1000’s of those lethal reptiles, every geared up with the facility of venom sturdy sufficient to dissolve human flesh. Many seabirds descend to relaxation, they unconsciously enter right into a deathly survival recreation the place the golden lancehead’s swiftness at hanging ensures its subsequent meal.
Mendacity about 93 miles off São Paulo’s bustling metropolis, Ilha da Queimada Grande, also called “Snake Island”, stays virgin to human constructing as a result of an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 golden lancehead vipers name this island house, which works out at an astonishing one to 2 snakes per 200 sq. meters, or about 25 to 50 snakes on an American soccer subject.
That may be much less of an issue in the event that they have been small and non-venomous, however the residents of Queimada Grande are golden lanceheads- a species of pit viper and probably the most venomous snakes on this planet. Lanceheads belong to the style chargeable for a reported 90 p.c of all snakebite-related deaths in Brazil. The vipers are about half a meter in size and carry a particularly highly effective hemotoxic venom that may soften the human pores and skin and underlying tissues round their fangs.
Queimada Grande is a really essential stopover level for a lot of migratory seabirds that grow to be simple prey for the island’s heavy snake inhabitants. The venom of the golden lancehead has developed to be very lethal, enabling it to rapidly incapacitate and kill seabirds which land within the bushes of the island earlier than they’re able to take flight once more. Dwelling in an setting filled with opponents but free from ground-level predators, deadly venom secures survival and a profitable livelihood for the golden lancehead.
Due to the extremely venomous nature of those snakes, the Brazilian Navy has forbidden anybody from setting foot on this island, besides maybe just a few scientific researchers. Once more, the identical motive underscores the dangerousness of Snake Island, the place the golden lancehead has proud dominion.
There have by no means been any documented circumstances of a golden lancehead attacking a human, locals within the coastal cities round Queimada Grande get pleasure from telling two grotesque tales of loss of life related to Snake Island. In considered one of them, a neighborhood fisherman unknowingly strays upon the island to choose some bananas. Predictably, he will get bitten. He makes it again to his boat, however dies shortly thereafter from the snake’s venom. He’s discovered someday afterward the boat deck in an excellent pool of blood.
Watch how snakes climb bushes
The opposite story is in regards to the remaining lighthouse operator and his household. One night time, just a few snakes enter by way of a window and assault the person, his spouse, and their three kids. In a determined gambit to flee, they flee towards their boat, however they’re bitten by snakes on branches overhead.
The determine of 5 snakes per sq. meter is an exaggeration of the locals, says Marcelo Duarte, a biologist who has visited Snake Island greater than 20 occasions, although maybe not by that a lot. One snake per sq. meter is extra prefer it. Not that that ought to ease one’s thoughts: At one snake per meter, you are by no means greater than three ft away from loss of life.
Presently, visiting the island legally requires the cooperation of the Brazilian Navy. A a lot safer wager is to attempt to see snakes in mainland Brazil, in captivity.
To do that you’ve got three choices:
Golden lanceheads can legally be seen on the Butantan Institute in São Paulo within the Serpentarium if one asks properly.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to go to the São Paulo Zoo, in whose snake home an enclosure resides with 5 grownup lanceheads.
The final possibility goes to the Zoológico Municipal Quinzinho de Barros in Sorocaba metropolis, state of Sao Paulo, in whose reptile home there lives very fortunately a really particular golden lancehead snake.
