STAY AWAY From This Island!

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Published on March 30, 2019 2:00:00 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15tcfd0IUho

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Ilha da Queimada Grande, also known as Snake Island is a place you should avoid! Let's take a look at some facts about this scary island.


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Voiceover by Carl Mason: carlito1705@icloud.com


Number 7 Ilha da Queimada Grande
This island has crystal-clear waters, a lush rainforest 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 holiday destination. The islands surface is 4,600,000 square feet and, by some estimates, there were once over 400,000 snakes. This would amount to a snake for every 10.6 square feet, which is why Ihla da Queimada Grande has appropriately come to be known as Snake Island. Today, the snake population is believed to be much lower than previous estimates.
Number 6 History
Despite its reputation as one of the world’s most dangerous places, the island was once populated. The name ‘Ilha da Queimada Grande’ roughly translates as ‘Big Burnt Island’. Its origins can be traced to an attempt by the local population to clear the land by deforestation. They burned off portions of the rainforest to make room for a banana plantation. A lighthouse was built in 1909 with the purpose of 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 living on Snake Island at all. One of the most obvious questions is how the island became inhabited by so many snakes? The main theory is that, about 11,000 years ago, rising sea levels separated Ihla da Queimada Grande from mainland Brazil. The snake species that remained on the island evolved differently than the others. This allowed them to reproduce at a rapid rate 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 migratory birds which visited the island at certain times of the year. an as they could simply fly off.
Number 5 Golden Lancehead
The main reason why nobody’s allowed on the island is the golden lancehead. 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 elongated shape of its head, which is typical of all snakes in the Bothrops genus, and the yellowish-brown color of its underside. It’s believed that a common ancestor of Bothrops insluaris and Bothrops jararaca, the golden lancehead’s closest mainland relative, migrated to the island when the sea levels were low. Evolution would eventually split the snake into two separate subspecies. The golden lancehead has a longer tail, which is most likely an adaptation that enables it to maneuver through trees, where it does most 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 42 bird species, the golden lancehead mostly relies on two a type of flycatcher called Elaenia chilensis and Troglodytes musculus, also known as the southern house wren.
Number 4 Research
Bothrops insularis’ relatives, also known by the common name ‘lanceheads’ are responsible for about ninety per cent of all the snake bites in Brazil. Marcelo Duarte is a scientist with the Brazilian Butantan Institute, which studies the pharmaceutical applications of reptilians.
Number 3 Outlawed
That doesn’t mean that a permit to visit the island is available for anyone, provided they bring a doctor with them. The ban put in place is meant to protect both the endangered golden lanceheads and those who could be bitten. Special permission is usually granted to researchers and biologists studying this rare snake species, in the hopes of better understanding the Bothrops genus, as a whole.
Number 2
Most people would regard setting foot on an island where the ground slithers with snakes as a nightmare come true. Others, however, see it as opportunity to make money. The price for a golden lancehead reportedly ranges from $10,000 to $30,000. Since these snakes are only found on Ilha da Queimada Grande, their population was affected by whatever transformations the island went through.
Number 1 Legends
It was inevitable that an island entirely populated by snakes would be surrounded by a fair degree of mythology.