‘Snake Island’: Meet the world's deadliest place - When you picture a dream vacation in Brazil do you picture hundreds of snakes lurking in every corner? Probably not, but the South American country is home to such a place.

On "Snake Island," as it's been appropriately dubbed, you'd never be more than about one meter away from a highly venomous viper.

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‘Snake Island’ - Officially Ilha da Queimada Grande, this 110-acre island located 35 km off the coast of São Paulo is inhabited almost exclusively by a species of snake: the golden lancehead (or Bothrops insularis for the science-minded among us). (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Golden lancehead - This pit viper is unique to this tiny Atlantic island. The snake gets its name from its light, yellowish color and its head shape. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Who rules the island? - The island is infested with between 2,000 and 4,000 golden lanceheads. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Number of snakes - That translates into about 45 vipers per hectare, equivalent to the size of a soccer field, according to BBC Brasil. That’s between one and five snakes per square meter. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Lancehead snakes - The golden lancehead’s mainland cousins are responsible for 90% of snakebite-related deaths in Brazil. Luckily, the golden cousins are way easier to avoid. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Golden lancehead - The snake is among the deadliest vipers in the world, according to the Smithsonian. Its venom is three to five times stronger than that of any mainland snake, also according to the Smithsonian.

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Snake Island - The venom of these half-meter long snakes is so powerful it’s said to melt the flesh around the bites and cause death in under an hour, according to Atlas Obscura. There’s a pretty logical explanation for the snake’s deadly nature.

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How did they become so poisonous? - About 11,000 years ago, toward the end of the last ice age, rising sea levels caused the island to become isolated from the mainland, separating some snakes of the lancehead genus from their relatives. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.5)

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Evolution - Over time, the separated snakes adapted to their surroundings, developing the characteristics seen today.

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Taking over - Because there were no ground-level predators on the island, the snakes were able to reproduce quickly. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

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No predators means no prey - But the lack of diversity on the island also meant that there were no ground-level preys for the snakes to feed on. What did they do? (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Birds are the answer - The began to feed on migratory birds that stopped by the island on their routes. So those individuals endowed with more toxic, powerful venom were more successful in catching birds and making a quick kill. (Photo: Pixabay/CC0 1.0)

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The result: Extra killer venom - That’s because snake venom can take hours (even days) to act, and that’s a problem when it comes to birds as they might fly away before dying. So the snakes with more potent venom that killed faster had a higher chance of reproducing and passing on those killer genes.

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Off-limits - Unsurprisingly, not only is the island uninhabited, access is also prohibited. The only exceptions are made for researchers and environmental analysts who need authorization from the federal government, according to BBC Brasil. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)

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Tourism - Visiting the island is strictly prohibited. The only way to visit the island would be to attempt to convince a local fisherman in Peruíbe or Itanhaém (pictured) to take you there. But that would be illegal, not to mention potentially deadly. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-NC 2.0)

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Control - The island’s only sign of human activity comes in the form a of lighthouse, which was built in the late 19th century by the Brazilian Navy, which is still responsible for its operation today. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Tales - The snakes’ deadly skills are bound to attract attention and, of course, lore. One of the local stories contends that the snakes were put on the island by pirates seeking to protect their gold, according to BBC Brasil.

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Tales - The other grizzly story relates to the lighthouse keeper and his family. According to the HuffPost, the keeper, his wife, and three children were attacked by golden lanceheads in their chambers and attempted to flee through a window to reach their boat. However, before they made it to shore, they were bitten by snakes and died hopelessly on the island.

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The lighthouse keeper and his family - Though the lighthouse was indeed kept by workers in the early 20th century, the Brazilian Navy automated the lighthouse in 1925. As BBC Brasil reported, there are no records of any keepers dying while operating the lighthouse.

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Another tale - Another lore that still survives refers to a fisherman who wandered onto the island in search of bananas only to find something different, albeit yellow. The story contends the man was found dead in a pool of his own blood several days later, according to the HuffPost.

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Known deaths - Despite the local lore, no deaths have ever been reported, according to BBC Brasil. In fact, the first samples of golden lanceheads were collected by lighthouse operators, and it’s thanks to them that researchers were first able to identify and study the snakes in the early 20th century.

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Medical potential - The Brazilian Butantan Institute in São Paulo studies venomous reptiles for pharmaceutical purposes. In an interview with VICE, a researcher said the golden lancehead’s venom has shown potential in helping with heart disease, circulation, and blood clots. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Black market - Because of its medical potential, wildlife smugglers, or biopirates, can make up to US$30,000 per snake on the black market, according to VICE. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY 2.0)

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Critically endangered - Despite their scary-sounding numbers, golden lanceheads are actually listed as critically endangered. That’s mainly due to habitat degradation and smuggling activity, according to the Smithsonian.

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Habitat loss - BBC Brasil contends that habit degradation is caused by local fishermen who set fire to the island in an attempt to disembark there. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Habit loss - On the other hand, the Smithsonian contends that habitat loss can be attributed partly to the Brazilian Navy removing vegetation.

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Fire Island - Though assignment of guilt may not be clear-cut, the Brazilian Navy, as well as fishermen, have been known to frequently set fire to the island in attempts to control the snake population and/or gain access, according to BBC Brasil. In fact, the island’s name—Ilha da Queimada Grande—means “island of the big burn” in Portuguese in allusion to the practice. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY 2.0)

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Endangered species - By some estimates, the golden lancehead population has dwindled by nearly 50% in the last 15 years, according to the Smithsonian. So, despite its incredible ability to adapt, the deadly snakes might lose their battle to humans. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)

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