Snake Island is the deadliest place on Earth: 4,000 vipers, one per square metre, and zero tourists allowed
Roughly 33 kilometres off Brazil's São Paulo coast sits a rocky lump just 106 acres wide. Locals call it Ilha da Queimada Grande, but the rest of the world knows it as Snake Island. The nickname is no exaggeration.
Biologists counting hides and shed skins estimate somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 golden lancehead vipers live here, a density that can reach one snake per square metre in parts of the forest floor.
The golden lancehead (Bothrops insularis) exists nowhere else and carries venom up to five times stronger than its mainland cousins. Brazilian authorities banned public landings in the 1920s; even Navy crews who service the automated lighthouse bring a doctor and anti-venom as standard kit.
In short, it is a place where humans aren't welcome, and the snakes are barely hanging on.
Where is Snake Island and how did so many venomous snakes end up here
Queimada Grande lies in the Atlantic, about 90 km south-west of São Paulo city. The rock rises steeply from sea level, ringed by cliffs that make beach landings tricky even without fanged residents.
Sea levels rose around 11,000 years ago, cutting the hilltop off from the mainland and trapping a small population of lancehead ancestors.
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With no ground predators and few mammals to hunt, the snakes turned their attention upward, ambushing migrating songbirds. Over millennia, their venom evolved to drop birds in seconds, before the prey could fly off and die elsewhere.
Golden lancehead at the Snake Island
Trait
Detail
Scientific name
Bothrops insularis
Average length
70–90 cm
Venom strength
≈5× Bothrops jararaca (mainland relative)
IUCN status
Critically Endangered – population falling
Main prey
Migratory birds (Chilean elaenia, yellow-legged thrush)
The bite can cause kidney failure, brain haemorrhage and tissue necrosis; untreated, similar lancehead bites carry up to a 7 percent fatality rate. No verified medical cases exist from the island itself because people rarely set foot there.
Golden lancehead
Why are humans not allowed to visit Snake Island
Safety
– A dense viper population plus steep terrain make rescue tough.
Conservation
– Smugglers once offered up to $30,000 per live snake for the exotic-pet trade.
Research control
– only vetted herpetologists with multiple permits and a medical escort may land; the Navy checks the lighthouse once a year.
Snake Island: Myths, legends and the truth
Stories talk of pirates seeding snakes to protect buried gold, or a lighthouse keeper's family dying overnight. In reality, the population boom is an accident of geology, and documented human deaths on the island are anecdotal—scientists describe the vipers as surprisingly shy when approached slowly.
Illegal collection is shrinking genetic diversity; as few as 25–40 snakes removed per year could trigger extinction, modelling shows.
Loss of bird prey: deforestation on the mainland is reducing the migratory flocks that the snakes rely on.
Inbreeding effects: Researchers have recorded intersex individuals and lower fertility linked to a tiny gene pool.
Viper Snakes
Can anyone visit Snake Island?
For the general public, the answer is simply no. Brazil's environmental agency (ICMBio) and the Navy block tourism permits.
Scientists must file detailed research proposals, carry satellite phones, and bring enough antivenom for every team member. Even then, a doctor must join the expedition.
The island's eerie reputation usually overshadows its bigger story: a single, isolated species trying to survive climate shifts, poachers and shrinking food supply. The ban that keeps thrill-seekers away also buys conservationists time to study the golden lancehead's venom, which has already shown promise for treating blood-pressure disorders. The place is deadly for people, sure, but it is the snakes that may need saving next
Snake Island related FAQs
1. How many snakes live on Snake Island?
Best estimates range 2,000–4,000 golden lanceheads, roughly one per square metre in dense spots.
2. Why
is the golden lancehead so venomous?
Isolation forced it to hunt birds; faster-acting venom stops prey from flying off before dying.
3. Is it legal to step ashore with a private boat?
No. Only research teams with federal and naval permits can land, and they must bring a physician.
4. Do any people live there today?
No one has lived on the island since the lighthouse was automated in the 1920s.
5. Could the species go extinct?
Yes—poaching, inbreeding and falling bird numbers place the golden lancehead on the Critically Endangered list.
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