Shidau Island is hell on earth for ophidiophobes.

If you are even slightly scared of snakes, listen to another episode.

Trust me, you don't want to hear about this place.

Shidau is less than 0.3 square miles.

It's tiny, almost too small to dignify the title of Island.

And yet, it is home to nearly 20,000 venomous snakes.

No, that is not me miss speaking. The lowest population estimates I can find

anywhere are still well over 10,000. You might be wondering, how could they fit on such a small

surface area? How could 20,000 snakes fit on less than 0.3 square miles?

This island is the snake equivalent of a clown car. In some sections of the island, there is a snake

every square meter. They're spread around the island as if it were raining snakes moments earlier.

They're draped around trees and bushes, on bushes, on the ground everywhere. You couldn't swing a tennis

racket without hitting one of these creatures. Reading about this place, it's almost hard to believe

it's real.

It sounds like a made-up destination you'd tell children about to make them behave.

It sounds like the location for a side quest in a video game, or a trial for a hero in a movie.

But this place, this place is real. And though it is virtually unknown to Westerners, I'm sure most of my listeners have not heard of this place, it is remarkably well

researched by Chinese scientists. Today we're going to talk about this bizarre island and its

remarkable residence.

The Shadau Pit Vipers.

Glodius Shadoansis.

I'm Mackin. This is Species.

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