Snake Island : The Death World

 From its evolutionary history to the gruesomelegends surrounding it, here’s why you should stay away from this island:Number 7 Ilha da Queimada Grande This island has crystal-clear waters, a lushrainforest and a mild climate that’s typically between 65 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. 

From the outside, Ilha da Queimada Grande,located about 21 miles off the coast of Sao Paolo, Brazil, looks like an ideal holidaydestination. However, upon closer inspection you’ll findthat it’s actually one of the deadliest places on Earth. The islands surface is 4,600,000 square feetand, by some estimates, there were once over 400,000 snakes. This would amount to a snake for every 10.6square feet, which is why Ihla da Queimada Grande has appropriately come to be knownas Snake Island. Today, the snake population is believed tobe much lower than previous estimates. Nevertheless, the island is still home tothousands of highly-venomous pit vipers which are capable of swiftly killing a human. As such, the Brazilian Navy has closed SnakeIsland to the public, only allowing access for researchers collecting data. Number 6 History Despite its reputation as one of the world’s most dangerous places, the island was oncepopulated. 

The name ‘Ilha da Queimada Grande’ roughlytranslates as ‘Big Burnt Island’. Its origins can be traced to an attempt bythe local population to clear the land by deforestation. They burned off portions of the rainforestto make room for a banana plantation. A lighthouse was built in 1909 with the purposeof steering ships away from the island. Once it was converted to being automated,in the 1980s, the last human inhabitants left the island. In fact, there aren’t any mammals livingon Snake Island at all. One of the most obvious questions is how theisland became inhabited by so many snakes? The main theory is that, about 11,000 yearsago, rising sea levels separated Ihla da Queimada Grande from mainland Brazil. The snake species that remained on the islandevolved differently than the others. Since they’d basically become stranded ona strip of land, the snakes had no predators at ground level. This allowed them to reproduce at a rapidrate and spread throughout the island. 

They also didn’t have much prey, as all the rodent population had disappeared, so they adapted accordingly. Their main source of food became the migratorybirds which visited the island at certain times of the year. When snakes hunt, they’ll sometimes bitetheir prey and allow the venom to kill it before tracking it down and eating it. That being said, for the snakes of Ihla daQuiemada Grande, tracking their prey wasn’t an option as they could simply fly off. That’s why their venom evolved to becomevery powerful. It’s so potent, in fact, that it can melthuman skin almost instantly. Number 5 Golden Lance head.

The main reason why nobody’s allowed on the island is the golden lancehead, a dangerouspit viper only to be found on Ilha da Queimada Grande. Known by the scientific name Bothrops Insularis,this snake can grow to lengths of 28 to 46 inches. It draws its common name from the elongatedshape of its head, which is typical of all snakes in the Bothrops genus, and the yellowish-browncolor of its underside. It’s believed that a common ancestor ofBothrops insluaris and Bothrops jararaca, the golden lancehead’s closest mainlandrelative, migrated to the island when the sea levels were low. 

Evolution would eventually split the snakeinto two separate subspecies. The golden lancehead has a longer tail, whichis most likely an adaptation that enables it to maneuver through trees, where it doesmost of its hunting. Its diet mainly consists of migratory birds,and not rodents, like the jararaca’s. Even though the island is home to about 42bird species, the golden lancehead mostly relies on two a type of flycatcher calledElaenia chilensis and Troglodytes musculus, also known as the southern house wren. Instead of biting, releasing and then trackingits prey, the golden lancehead holds the victim in its mouth once it’s envenomated. Its venom is five times stronger than thatof the jararaca and potentially fatal to humans. In 3 per cent of cases death can still occur,even after the person has received treatment. Golden lancehead venom is the fastest actingof all Bothrops snakes as it can kill an adult in less than 90 minutes. It has hemotoxic components, which eat awayat flesh, as well as neurotoxic components. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, swelling,bruising, local pain, blood blisters and severe tissue necrosis. 

Those bitten can also experience blood inthe urine and vomit, intestinal bleeding, kidney failure and brain hemorrhaging. Number 4 Venom ResearchBothrops insularis’ relatives, also known by the common name ‘lanceheads’ are responsiblefor about ninety per cent of all the snake bites in Brazil. Studying the potent venom of the golden lanceheadmay help in the treatment of future snake-related bites. There are also other areas in which the snake’svenom could be useful. Marcelo Duarte is a scientist with the BrazilianButantan Institute, which studies the pharmaceutical applications of reptilian venom. He said ‘We’re just scratching this universeof possibilities of venoms’. He believes golden lancehead venom is scientificallypromising and might help with blood clots, circulation and heart disease. Number 3 OutlawedA policy put in place by the Brazilian government requires any legally sanctioned visits tothe island to be accompanied by a doctor, in case of run-ins with the local snake population. That doesn’t mean that a permit to visitthe island is available for anyone, provided they bring a doctor with them. The ban put in place by the Brazilian Navyis meant to protect both the endangered golden lanceheads and those who could be bitten. Special permission is usually granted to researchersand biologists studying this rare snake species, in the hopes of better understanding the Bothropsgenus, as a whole. The other people who visit the island areBrazilian navy staff, tasked with maintenance of the island’s automated lighthouse. Number 2 ThreatsMost people would regard setting foot on an island where the ground slithers with dangeroussnakes as a nightmare come true.

 Others, however, see it as opportunity tomake money. Because of the demand from animal collectorsand scientists, golden lanceheads are a prized item on the black market. Wildlife smugglers, known as biopirates, risktheir lives and legal consequences to trespass on the island in order to trap these snakesand sell them. The price for a golden lancehead reportedlyranges from $10,000 to $30,000. Biopirates aren’t the only threats thesesnakes face. Other factors, such as habitat degradationand disease have contributed to halving the golden lancehead population, in the past 15years. Since these snakes are only found on Ilhada Queimada Grande, their population was affected by whatever transformations the island wentthrough. This included vegetation removal by the BrazilianNavy for building and maintaining the lighthouse as well as the intentional fires started bythose who wanted to make room for a banana plantation. There are currently anywhere from 2,000 to4,000 golden lanceheads living on the island and the species is considered to be criticallyendangered. As fragile as their numbers seem to be, steppingfoot on the island can very well be a death sentence for anyone without training and protectivegear. Number 1 LegendsIt was inevitable that an island entirely populated by snakes would be surrounded bya fair degree of mythology. In the local legends the vengeful venomoussnakes have taken their revenge on the people who dared colonize the island that was rightfullytheirs. In one of the stories, a hungry fishermanwent to the island to pluck some bananas, unaware of the dangers. He stepped carelessly and was bitten by asnake hanging from a tree branch. It’s said that he was later found dead,on his boat, sprawled in a pool of his own blood. Another story often repeated among localsconcerns the last inhabitants of the island, the lighthouse keeper and his family.

 One night, they all fell asleep but had forgottento close one of the windows. A snake slithered through it and bit one ofthe family members, who then awoke in screams. They all fled the home in a panic, racingto their boat, which was tied nearby. However, before they could reach the boat,they were viciously attacked by a large number of snakes. The man, his wife and their three childrenwere all killed. Other legends tell how the snakes got to theisland in the first place. It’s said that Ilha da Queimada Grande wasonce a popular place for pirates to bury their stolen treasure. They supposedly left the snakes behind asprotection and brought handlers with them whenever they had to retrieve their loot or add to it. 

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