Snake Island in Brazil: how to visit, what to see

There are many places in the world that are notorious. Even at the mention of them, the blood freezes, and the imagination draws all sorts of horrors. Has such a tourist attraction and Brazil. The island of snakes - the most terrible of all known to the world patches of land, this is the place where the deadly danger lies under every tree, on every square meter. It does not come from invented ghosts or non-existent monsters, but from quite real snakes.

They say, they even to death bitten the family of the lighthouse keeper, including three of his daughters. Local people say that there were a hundred bites on the bodies of the unfortunate. The lighthouse was left here, only now automatic, and the island with snakes in Brazil was banned from visiting absolutely all categories of citizens. The exception is people who sometimes need to check the serviceability of the lighthouse, and scientists. But they must also receive special permission to set foot on this unfriendly patch of land.

Snake Island (Brazil): description

This kingdom of horror and oblivion, officially called Keimada Grandi, lies less than 22 miles west of the Brazilian coast. The intriguing islet rises above the surface of the Atlantic Ocean only 210 meters. Its area is very small, about 437 square meters, and even that, including rocky ledges from the southern tip. The shores of the island are steep and unapproachable, as if nature herself is hinting to people: they do not need it here. And nevertheless, Keimada-Grandi is very picturesque. Its luscious green tropical vegetation, densely covering the hills, effectively contrasts with the golden color of the rocks, promising chic photos. In the southern part of the white finger that very ill-fated lighthouse rises to the sky. All this is bathed in blue-blue ocean waters.

Sizzling Aborigines

The island of snakes in Brazil broke off from the mainland 11,000 years ago, which made it possible to preserve here and nowhere else on Earth the snakes of the Ostrovnaya Botrops species. Forced into the ecosystem, from which there is no chance to escape, reptiles ate everything that moved, and left without natural enemies, multiplied to disgrace. Now there are 6 of them on each square meter. Taking into account the fact that the reptiles have spread unevenly around the island, somewhere they are not there at all, but somewhere they gather in balls of 20 or more copies. The beloved occupation of the Botrops is to sit on the tree in ambush and attack the victim from the top. The main dish of their menu is the birds arriving on the Island of snakes in Brazil nest. Reptiles diversify the diet of lizards, amphibians and scorpions.

Lifestyle

Island botsrops, or snake gold spearhead, in its tiny realm faces difficulties not only in the production of food, but also in the extension of the genus. All individuals here are close relatives, because the snake island in Brazil does not sail extraneous individuals, even for mating. In view of the acute shortage of "suitors", the snakes of this species are hermaphrodites, both males and females. They appropriated the epithet "golden" because of the golden color of scales covering the body from the head and, as they say, to the feet. But in captivity, "gold" becomes gray-brown. On their body for disguise, nature scattered several dark strips. The length of snakes is more than a meter, but more often does not exceed 70 cm. The epithet "spearhead" was given to them for a flat, sharp-pointed muzzle. Botrops lead a daily life, looking for birds among the trees. They start to mate in March and remain sexually active until the end of June. The serpents are born alive. In the nest of them can be up to 10 pieces. Young people, perhaps to protect themselves from hungry older comrades, lead a nocturnal life.

Virulence

It is found out that island botrops are the most poisonous among representatives of their species. Their poison is able to kill the average mouse in 2 seconds, and in mammals at the site of the bite, tissues begin to die almost immediately. The death rate among people is 7%, which is not so little. And if the bitten immediately enter the antidote, it will help only in 3% of cases. Fortunately, only the Serpent Island in Brazil is teeming with these ideal killers, so there are no deaths from their teeth yet. But on the continent live less poisonous relatives of island botrops. Here these kill more than 100 people a year. In order to continue to have no claims to a golden serpent, the government of Brazil has forbidden to land on the island. Tourists can only walk around it on boats and boats.