There are various snake islands around the world. Perhaps the most high profile in recent years is the one in the Black Sea. It hit the headlines in February 2022 when it was captured by Russian forces during the early days of the invasion of Ukraine.
Where is Snake Island?
But this is a website about wildlife, not military history, so we should probably go with a Snake Island that is famous (or, even better, infamous) for its limbless reptiles. Ilha da Queimada Grande, to give it its Portuguese name, is a lump of rock sitting 33km off the Brazilian mainland. It has come to be known as Snake Island because of the thousands of venomous snakes that occupy its 43 hectares.
The golden lancehead is a species of pit viper found nowhere else in the world. It has been evolving in isolation since rising sea levels cut it off from the mainland 11,000 years ago. At less than a metre in length, it is significantly smaller than its closest relatives, but has a reputation for being one of the most dangerous snakes on the planet. Stories abound about the potency of the golden lancehead’s venom, which is said to be fast-acting and lead to an agonising death.
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It is claimed there is one snake for every square metre of Ilha da Queimada Grande. Little surprise, perhaps, that only scientists and the military are permitted to visit. When YouTuber Lord Miles evaded the Brazilian authorities to land there in 2023, he wore body-armour to protect himself from bites.
Does Snake Island deserve its reputation?
But is the island’s terrifying reputation justified? For a start, there are few, if any, documented cases of golden lancehead bites, fatal or otherwise, on humans. According to biologists studying the vipers, they are non-aggressive and don’t react when approached by people. What’s more, the venom is designed to immobilise birds, not mammals.
The snake specialises in eating two species of migratory songbird: the Chilean elaenia, which passes through each spring, and the yellow-legged thrush, which appears in autumn. Intriguingly, the island’s two species of resident bird – the southern house wren and the bananaquit – seem capable of evading the vipers.
Best estimates for the number of snakes on the island range between 2,000 and 4,000. Even going by the upper limit, that’s more than 100m2 per snake. Going by Lord Miles’s video evidence, he didn’t encounter a single snake during his adventure.
The snake population may have been higher in the past. The IUCN lists the species as Critically Endangered and the population is declining, at least in part due to illegal collection for the pet trade: one snake can sell for $30,000. In which case, perhaps the ban on visitors is more about protecting the snakes than the humans.
Main image: Snake Island by Prefeitura Municipal de Itanhaém, CC BY 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons