Snake Island

Ilha da Queimada Grande - Snake Island

Located 21 miles or 33 km off the coast of Sao Paulo Brazil is what is known as Snake Island. Measuring 110 acres or 430,000 sq meters in size this island ranges in elevation from sea level to 676 ft or 206 meters above sea level. The temperate climate of this island makes it an ideal home for it’s critically endangered resident, the Bothrops insularis or golden lancehead pit viper as it’s more commonly known.

Many years ago, as the ocean rose, the snakes became trapped on this island. Today, for the protection of the snakes, this island is closed to virtually everyone except hand selected researchers by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation and the Brazilian navy.

Queimada Grande is covered with a variety of climate types, everything from lush rainforests to barren rocky areas and open grasslands. At one point the whole island was a lush rainforest but as a result of deforestation now ½ the island has barrens grass patches which can easily be spotted.

The term Queimada in Portuguese means to burn which comes from when locals would attempt to clear the land for a banana plantation on the island. After land was cleared a lighthouse was constructed in 1909 to help steer ships clear of the island. The last human inhabitants of the island were those operating the lighthouse, when it was converted into an automated system the island was left to be reclaimed completely by the snakes.

There are so many snakes on this island it is estimated there is a 1 snake for every square meter. While they can be found lurking in the grass, the lancehead primarily hangs out in trees waiting for birds to land. They wait until a bird lands, seeking shelter within the forest’s canopy, the lancehead has heat detectors on the top of their head which allows them to track warm blooded birds when it’s cool and raining. Once a target is spotted within range the lancehead will wiggle their tail tricking the bird into thing it’s a grub they can eat. The snake will lure the bird in then attack, injecting their venom. The lancehead snake has evolved their poison to be fast acting, allowing them to capture and eat the birds they bite. This evolution is a result of their isolation on this island, their venom is 5x more potent than their mainland relatives. Despite the infestation of snakes there are 41 recorded bird species that call this island home. The golden lancehead pit viper relies primarily on only 2 species of birds to survive, the southern house wren, which can avoid the viper’s poisonous bite and a species of flycatcher. This species of flycatcher called, Elaenia chilensis, feeds on vegetation in the same proximity to the lancehead. These visitor birds are the primary source of food for the lancehead as the local birds are too wise to the lanceheads hunting tactics. At times, the lancehead snake will go for months without food until they make a catch. The lancehead has also been known to eat lizards and even their own kind if their are hungry enough.

A population study first estimated there are 430,000 snakes that reside on the Queimada Grande but recent estimates are much lower. There are approximately 2000 to 4000 golden lancehead pit vipers which all live in the remaining rainforest area.

If a human is bitten by the golden lancehead, they will have a maximum of 6 hours before the fast acting venom of the golden lancehead will burn through your flesh and cause them to bleed to death.

It is believed that people are illegally coming to this island to steal these snakes. They sell for $15,000 as a pet on the black market but are also sought after for their venom for use with pharmaceuticals. A single gram of their venom can sell for more than a gram of gold on the black market.

Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqNeBg98LnE
https://www.flickr.com/photos/governomunicipaldeitanhaem/6054204904

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Intro music thanks to Machinmasound:
Rallying the Defense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruPk4RD19Nw

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