Ilha da Queimada Grande

Ilha de Queimada Grande, nicknamed Snake Island, is a 43,000 square metre piece of land off the southeastern corner of Brazil, at coord|24.4833333|S|46.6833333|W. It is home to a variation of the fer-de-lance snake, known as the Golden Lancehead (Bothrops insularis), with one of the most powerful venoms in the world; local legend claims that there are five snakes to every square metre. One current estimate places the actual figure at one snake per square metre. Plans to build a banana plantation on the island fizzled, and, for a long time, the island's only inhabitant was a lighthouse keeper. Currently, Brazilian naval regulations ban civilians from the island, though scientists sometimes receive waivers.

External links

* [http://forests.org/archive/brazil/parafor1.htm Paradise for Pit Vipers]
* [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/fieldtales/snakeisland/ National Geographic Field Tale: Snake Island]
* [http://www.markoshea.tv/series1/series01-02.html Mark O'Shea's Lost Worlds]
* [http://markoshea.tv/series1/series01-02.html]