Animal Islands

I have been compared to the fictional character Indiana Jones many times. Not only am I a swashbuckling world traveler but I look great in a Fedora as well. There is that one other trait though: I am scared to death of snakes. That’s why we start this journey with…

Snake Island, Brazil

Actually located 93 miles off the coast of Brazil and named Ilha da Queimada Grande, visits to Snake Island have been recently banned by the Brazilian Navy. Darn, right when I was hoping to go. Believe it or not this is not so much for the safety of visiting human as it is for the snakes. They are endangered and fetch quite a few dollars on some kind of weird snake black market. The island is said to have 1 snake per square meter which means you’re never more than 3 feet from a nasty bite. That’s because these aren’t your garden variety Garter Snakes, these are Golden Lanceheads (a species of Pit Vipers) and are just about the deadliest snakes in the world. They hang out in trees as well as on the ground which means you have to look up and down for them. If you are bitten, you have anywhere from 1 hour to maybe 6 if you’re lucky to get an antidote and save your life. Things are looking up though because experts say there used to be 5 snakes per square meter.