Just off the coast of southern Brazil lies the island of Queimada Grande, often called ‘Snake Island’. Covering simply 43 hectares (106 acres), this rocky island is home to between 2,000 and 4,000 extremely venomous golden lancehead vipers (Bothrops insularis), which may develop to 70cm (simply over 2ft). The snakes have been trapped there round 11,000 years in the past, on the finish of the final ice age, when rising sea ranges lower them off from the mainland.
No mammals dwell on the island, so the snakes had no predators to maintain their numbers in test, but additionally very restricted prey. With few floor animals to hunt, the snakes grew to become specialists in catching birds that go to the island throughout their annual migrations.
This weight loss plan could clarify why their venom is so lethal – whereas most venomous snakes have the posh of biting their prey and monitoring it till it succumbs to the venom, the golden lancehead must kill their prey rapidly, earlier than the hen has an opportunity to fly off.
Golden lancehead venom is fast-acting and causes a spread of horrifying signs, from kidney failure to inside bleeding and tissue dying. However, these lethal properties have prompted some researchers to analyze the venom for medicinal makes use of, resembling treating coronary heart illness and blood clots.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the island is uninhabited (by people), and the Brazilian Navy has forbidden guests, apart from authorised scientific expeditions. This is as a lot to guard the snakes as it’s to guard unsuspecting vacationers – discovered nowhere else on Earth, golden lanceheads are thought-about critically endangered. Extremely decided wildlife smugglers make unlawful visits to seize the snakes, nonetheless, as their potent venom is prized on the black market.
A number of courageous inhabitants did dwell there within the early 1900s – tasked with working the lighthouse – however legend has it that the household was killed by snakes, and the lighthouse has since been automated.
The golden lanceheads favour forested areas of the island, the place they’ll hunt their prey. Some estimates counsel that within the forests there could also be as many as one lancehead per sq. meter.
Scientists say that their numbers are reducing, nonetheless, as a consequence of habitat loss, illness, unlawful poaching and the unfavourable results of inbreeding on this remoted inhabitants. A a lot smaller, non-venomous snake often called Sauvage’s snail-eater (Dipsas albifrons) additionally lives on the island.
So, when you ever end up stranded on snake island, your finest guess is to keep away from the forests and keep on the rocky shore, the place you’re unlikely to bump right into a golden lancehead. If you enterprise into the forest, be careful for vipers overhead and on the bottom.
Edible crops and animals are restricted, however you could possibly eat one of many snakes (when you can catch it). Just you should definitely take away the top, the place the venom glands are positioned, earlier than you tuck in.
If you undergo a golden lancehead chunk, you’ll have to get medical consideration in a short time: the venom can kill in underneath an hour, though solely round seven per cent of individuals die. The island is patrolled by the navy, so a speedy rescue isn’t unattainable.
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Asked by: Rosemary Norton, by way of electronic mail
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