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The idea of visiting an island full of your favourite pet animals seems like a dream to be honest.
You know, like ‘puppy island’ or ‘bunny island’... that would be cute right?
Except this real spot nicknamed Snake Island is so deadly no human is ever allowed to visit.
Queimada Grande might only have an area of 106 acres, but it's home to around 4,000 snakes – the equivalent of between three and five of the things per square metre.
And they’re not just harmless grass snakes like we have in the UK or the kind you’d want to hold around your neck like Britney Spears, they’re golden lancehead vipers.
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Sounds scary, right?
Critically endangered, the snake is one of the most venous snakes in the world.
The golden lancehead only lives on Snake Island, about 30 miles off the coast of Brazil.
While it primarily eats birds, the potent venom can be lethal to humans, with the possibility to kill you within just an hour.
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So, it’s hardly a disappointment that people aren’t allowed to visit the place for the sake of both them and the creatures – because who wants their flesh melted by a snake?
The snakes became trapped on Quiemada Grande thousands of years ago following the end of the last ice age, as the rising sea levels disconnected the island from Brazil’s mainland.
READ MORE:
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Authorities only let a small handful of scientists visit Snake Island a year but a 9 News reporter was previously given unprecedented access for 60 Minutes and was joined by a medical team.
Speaking to news.com.au, Tara Brown said she was warned not to go by local fishermen.
She said: "When we're speaking to local fisherman, they told us, 'That's not a good idea, you don't want to go there'. There are legends about a whole family being killed there, and of pirates burying treasure on the island and the snakes being put there to protect the treasure.
"The fishermen said they never went there, or they would die."
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As the years have gone by, the venom of the snakes there has actually evolved to be even more deadly.
Brown explained: "They're different to their mainland cousins in that they're five times more venomous and they are among the top 10 most poisonous snakes in the world.
"They hunt and eat birds. Not the local birds, who have become too smart for them, but larger migratory birds, boobies, who come by on their migration. And the snakes' venom has become more potent because their prey is bigger.
"It's an incredibly interesting evolutionary experiment for scientists to observe. This is a laboratory in the wild, if you like. You see evolution at play."
Yep, sure, sounds very interesting but I don’t think I’d be stepping foot near them.
Topics: Animals, Science, Travel, World News
Jess Battison