Ilha da Queimada Grande or Snake Island
As it is more
affectionately known, is a 43-hectare island located of the Brazilian
coastline, approximately 20 miles from the Sao Paulo shore. The island is home
one of the globe’s most deadly species of snake, the Golden Lancehead Viper,
who’s venom can eat through flesh. There are more than 4,000 of them on the
island, but local lore suggests that there is one snake for every five square
meters of the land. Whatever the case, the Brazilian government has prohibited any
visitors from setting foot there with one exception: Every few years the
government grants a handful of scientists a permit to study the snakes.
Ilha da Queimada Grande has a variety of vegetation. The
island is partly covered in rainforest and partly bare rock and grassy cleared
areas, a result of deforestation. The deforestation is the origin of the
island's name: the term “Queimada”, in Portuguese, means to slash and burn
because when locals attempted to clear land for a banana plantation on the
island, they had to clear rainforest using this technique. A lighthouse was
constructed in 1909 to steer ships away from the island. The last human
inhabitants left the island when the lighthouse was converted to being
automated.
The island and the Ilha Queimada Pequena to the west are
protected by the 33 hectares (82 acres) Ilhas Queimada Pequena e Queimada
Grande Area of Relevant Ecological Interest, created in 1985. The Brazilian
Navy has closed the island to the public and the only people who are allowed on
the island are research teams who receive waivers to collect data.
