'Snake Island' that was cut off from the rest of the world 11,000 years ago only allows scientists and soldiers to enter
There is a remote place known as ‘Snake Island’ that has been cut off from the rest of the world for the last 11,000 years.
It’s so isolated that only scientists and soldiers are allowed to enter.
The island is situated around 33km (20.5 miles) off the coast of Brazil.
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It’s technically called Ilha da Queimada Grande but has become well known as Snake Island due to the sheer amount of venomous snakes that live there.
It has been cut off from the rest of Brazil for the last 11,000 years due to rising sea levels and there are now so many snakes living there, that it’s been said there is one snake for every square meter of land.
In the 43 hectares of land, there are thousands of snakes, including the golden lancehead, which is a species of pit viper that isn’t found anywhere else in the world, who also happen to be one of the deadliest snakes on the planet.
The golden lancehead has strong venom which has been said to be fast-acting and will lead to an agonizing death.
However, there is not much information on how the snake interacts with humans, with some studies suggesting that they are non-aggressive and don’t tend to react when they’re approached by humans.
The venom is also designed to immobilize birds rather than people.
While the snakes live off a diet of birds, the island’s two resident species of birds, which are the southern house wren and the bananaquit, are able to avoid the snakes.
It’s estimated by biologists that there are around 2,000 to 4,000 snakes living on the island, although it's possible that the population of vipers was higher in the past.
While you may think that the ban on visiting the island is purely to protect humans, it’s also to protect the snakes who live there too.
With the population of the island snakes seeing a decline, they have become extremely lucrative for people selling them as pets.
And a snake that has been illegally collected from the island for the pet trade can fetch up to a whopping $30,000.
To stop people from stealing snakes off the island to sell, the island is now officially closed to visitors.
However, that didn’t stop one adventurous YouTuber known as Lord Miles who documented his illegal trip to Snake Island.
Being dropped off by a boat, the YouTuber spent time trekking through the trees in the hopes of catching a glimpse of a snake.
It seems they’re harder to spot than you might think as he didn’t see a single one.