Island off Brazil home to 'world's deadliest snake' that melts human flesh
An island off the coast of Sao Paolo in Brazil has been pronounced a no-go area - as it's riddled with some of the world's deadliest snakes.
The Ilha da Queimada Grande, dubbed Snake Island, is infested with up to 4,000 golden lancehead vipers, whose venom can kill a human in under an hour and even melts flesh.
There are between one and five snakes per square metre on the island, which has been deemed so dangerous the Brazilian Navy has forbidden anyone from landing there, reports atlasobscura.com.
The lancehead variety of snake is responsible for 90 per cent of Brazilian snakebite fatalities.
Locals recount grisly tales of the gruesome fate met by those who dare go there.
According to the Smithsonian, a fisherman once landed on the island in search of bananas, and was later discovered dead in his boat in a pool of blood with snake bites all over his body.
A few people have also lived on the island in order to run the lighthouse. The last family that did so were allegedly found dead after a host of snakes slithered into their home through the windows.
According to the Daily Mail, the snakes developed a highly powerful venom as they mainly live on migratory birds, so needed the ability to kill them almost immediately before they have the time to move on and die elsewhere.
Related articles
Venomous viper snake escapes enclosure at London Zoo
Giant python swallows pet Chihuahua while owner sleeps
Man bitten on penis by snake on toilet
Picture: Did this HUGE snake eat a human being?
