Why no human is allowed to visit Snake Island home to 4,000 of world’s deadliest snakes
A human 'would die' if they stepped foot on Snake Island, according to researchers, as they say it is home to 4,000 of the world's most venomous creatures.
A place nicknamed 'Snake Island' is not somewhere a lot of people would generally desire to travel to, but even if you did, humans are actually banned.
Ilha da Queimada Grande is the official name of the island, and while it is only made up of 106 acres, that is actually equivalent of between three and five snakes per square metre.
Unlike the creatures we find in the UK, such as a generally harmless grass snake, the ones found on this island are extremely deadly. Put it this way - they're not the kind of thing you would want to pose with around your neck.
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They're called golden lanceheads, and are critically endangered.
They can only be found on the island, which is located 30 miles off the coast of Brazil.
And while their primary victims are birds, they have the possibility to kill a human within as little as an hour.
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.
While humans are generally banned, a select few scientists can gain access to the island for experimental and research purposes every year.
However, a 9 News Reporter, Tara Brown, was allowed unprecedented access to for 60 minutes, and shared her findings with the world.
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."
She added: "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."
Brown explained that the snakes were five times more venomous than the ones found on mainland, and that they are among the top 10 most poisonous snakes in the world.
Mia Williams