Brazil: A Natural History

Brazil’s coast stretches 7,500 kilometres from the cool temperate waters of the south to the mouth of the Amazon, the equator and beyond, with a large number of remote islands off the coast. Undoubtedly the most formidable is Snake Island. Golden lanceheads – the most poisonous snakes on earth – populate Snake Island, as many as 5 per square metre. They are specialist killers of migrating birds. Humpback whales migrate up the coast from Antarctica to the tropical seas off Brazil where the mothers give birth and nurse their babies, whilst males, boisterous giants, compete by spectacular displays of acrobatic strength. Spinner dolphins live around the remote Fernando de Noronha Islands. These faraway islands are one of the last places on Earth where octopus and moray eels come out the sea to hunt down crabs.