Nobody Comes to This Brazilian Island, Here’s Why

No one expected such a strong storm. It’s too dangerous to sail back to the land because of high waves and winds. But suddenly, you notice a small green island nearby. You and your friend are about 25 miles [40 km] off the coast of Brazil.

You were fishing and didn’t notice black clouds obscuring the blue sky. You’re approaching the unknown island and see a coast guard boat behind you. People from there are screaming something to you, but you can’t make out the words because of the thunder. “They tell us we should stay away from that island,” your friend says.

Despite the warning, you still sail there since there’s no other way out. Around the island, you notice sharp rocks sticking out of the water like knives in the dark. Now, you realize what the Coast Guard warned about, but it’s too late. Your boat hits a rock. The bottom is pierced. You start to sink. The rain and wind are getting stronger. Both of you fall overboard. Then darkness comes.

You wake up in the morning because of the scorching sun and a dry mouth. Your friend and the wrecked boat are lying nearby. Apparently, you’ll have to wait for rescuers to get out here. Now, in the light of day, you can see how dangerous the island’s coast is. It’s surrounded by rocks, and you’re lucky you’ve survived. Getting out of here will be difficult.

Together with your companion, you decide to look for coconuts and bananas. Your friend goes to the wreckage and pulls out a bag of medicine. Then, both of you leave the sandy beach and enter the dense jungle. A couple of steps later, you hear a strange hiss. You see your friend. His eyes are filled with horror. Goosebumps run down your back. You feel something alive crawling under your feet. There is a lot of it.

You look down and notice slithering snakes. There are dozens of them. They wrap around your legs, get into trees. They are everywhere. "Don’t move!“— your friend says. “I think I know where we are.” You want to ask him a question, but fear takes away your voice. He reads your face and answers the question. “We’re in one of the most dangerous places on Earth —the Brazilian snake island.” These are not just some ordinary snakes.

This is the golden lancehead — one of the most venomous reptiles in the world. You can find them nowhere else on the planet except for this land. They evolved here naturally, without other snake species intervention. That made their venom 5 times stronger than the venom of ordinary vipers. They are practically the only owners of this island. Nowhere else in the world will you find such a concentration of creeping reptiles on such a small piece of land. And now they are glad that two big lunch meals have arrived. There’s little chance of survival, but you’re gonna try.

The first thing you need to do is get out of your stupor and find a thick stick. This is your best tool right now. If you encounter a venomous snake, the best you can do is retreat slowly. But this time, there are too many of them. They’re aggressive and hungry. Together with your friend, you fight off snakes with a stick. But there’s more and more of them coming. One of them falls on your shoulder from a tree and bites your neck. The poison instantly enters your bloodstream and affects your muscles. It feels like your body is melting. It becomes difficult to move, and your neck swells.

Your friend grabs you and carries you deep into the jungle. Here, among the trees, you notice an old lighthouse. Yeah, this building really stands out here. Once a year, the Coast Guard visits it. Your friend breaks down the door and puts you on the floor. You’re afraid you won’t be able to survive the bite. Fortunately, your friend is a doctor. He injects the necessary medicine and saves your life. You have a few minutes to rest before more danger arises. Your friend tells you that unique snakes appeared here thousands of years ago.

This island was part of Brazil for a long time. Then, massive floods separated it from the continent. This part of the land was cut off from the whole world, which helped the formation of a unique ecosystem inside. Vipers that lived here evolved into golden lanceheads. They quickly became the main masters of the island and destroyed all the other animals. But how did they manage to survive without food, cut off from the whole world?

They did it thanks to nature and evolution. This island is a transit point for many birds. They stop here to rest during long flights. These birds become dinner for the snakes. Previously, a snake bite almost didn’t harm the birds. They were frightened and flew away, leaving the snake without food. But over years of evolution, the island’s owners have developed such a potent poison that one bite was enough for a bird to never take off again.

There’s also a legend that a pirate hid treasures here a long time ago. And so that no one would ever find it, he brought snakes to guard his gold. Of course, there’s no chest with coins here, but the island is attractive for modern pirates even today. Golden lancehead snakes are an expensive commodity, so bad people often visit this place to hunt the reptiles. That’s why the coast guard is always on duty around the island.

People are forbidden to visit this place. And even if someone manages to get past the guards, they will have to face the rocks. Only biologists and scientists have permission to study the local fauna. A necessary condition for a visit is a doctor’s presence in the team, so they can save people from the snake’s poison. So we have pirates and hordes of poisonous snakes, but there is something else that makes the island even worse.

At this moment, you hear rustling all over the building. Thousands of little paws are tapping on the walls and the floor. You look around and see a lot of giant cockroaches. Some of them are half the size of your palm. They crawl under your clothes. You and your friend scream in fear and run out of the lighthouse. Quickly, you reach the shore and fall into the water. It seems that not a single cockroach is left under your shirt. But that’s not all.

You hear a strange buzzing sound. You look around and see a dark cloud of flying beetles forming in the sky. It’s locusts! Thousands of flying insects are heading in your direction. To avoid a collision, you dive under the water and wait for the cloud to pass by.

You go up to the surface and move to the shore. Fortunately, there are almost no snakes here. You and your friend are afraid to approach the jungle and wait for several hours until rescuers arrive. You’re nervously painting a pattern on the sand and make a promise you’ll never revisit this place. Finally, you see the lifeguard boat. You’re trying to tell them you got here by accident. They believe you and evacuate you from the island.

While you’re sailing away, you think about what would happen if many poisonous snakes appeared in a village or a small town. It’s difficult to imagine what kind of problems people would face. But in fact, there’s no need to imagine anything. There is a place on the planet where locals live next to poisonous cobras. But it doesn’t create any chaos. A human can live in peace and harmony with reptiles in that village.

Welcome to Shetpal village in India. This place has a population of about 2,600, and it’s located in the jungle. It’s hot here. Locals are friendly and responsive. If you go into one of the houses, you’ll see something that seems impossible.

The King cobra, whose venom is one of the most dangerous in the world, calmly crawls around furniture and eats eggs and meat that people give. There is even a special corner for the reptile to relax from the scorching sun, drink water, and have a snack. People are happy about the cobra as if it was a pet. In the village, cobras are everywhere.

They come into houses and schools, crawl through the streets, and keep company during dinner. The locals consider them full-fledged residents. They adore them. The snakes are also used to people and don’t see them as dangerous. The coolest thing is there has never been a tragic case in the village because of a poisonous bite. There’s no other place in the world where cobras live in such harmony with people.