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Butantan Snake Institute

A snake farm famous for its venemous varieties.

São Paulo, Brazil

Added By
Joshua Foer
  User submitted
Venomous snake.   Luciano Marra/CC BY-2.0
  User submitted
Instituto Butantan.   Neighty (Natália Reis)/CC BY 2.0
Scorpion.   CarolineL./CC BY-SA 2.0
Mating neotropical rattlesnakes in one of the outdoor enclosures   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A strikingly patterned viper   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A close up of a boa constrictor on the move   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A deadly brown spider , a common biting arachnid in Brazil (Including Sao Paulo city)and a common cause of wounds that require hospitalisation.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Viper lurking at the back of a vivarium   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A racer snake exploring it’s vivarium, native to Central America   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
An Amazonian boa constrictor sleeping   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Preserved snake specimen showing egg sacks   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A colourful rat snake at rest   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A languid green anaconda lazing in its water pool   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A well hidden and deadly little viper   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
View of the interior of the snake house   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A snake vivarium   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
The iconic Serpentarium / snake house   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Artifacts from the inception of the institution , snake shelters   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Sign explaining history of institution   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A formidable looking monocled cobra , a South East Asian species. This particular individual was rescued from the illegal pet trade and given a new home at the serpentarium.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A cryptic looking pit viper   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A cryptic looking pit viper   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A pair of gigantic Indian pythons   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A beautifully camouflaged jaraca snake   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A bird eating spider (tarantula), native to Amazonia   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A sleeping gila monster , a venemous lizard native to Mexico and the USA   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A Brazilian black tarantula, a species native to the Cerrado grasslands.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A jararaca viper species native to Brazil /South America   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A jararaca viper   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Close-up of a sinister looking jararaca viper   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Close up of a monocled cobra (native to South-East Asia)   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A yellow morph of the neotropical rattlesnake at rest   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A neotropical rattlesnake at the Butantan serpentarium   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A jararaca viper species hidden in foilage of a vivarium   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A curious looking water dragon , a (non venemous) lizard native to East Asia   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
One of the information signs in Portuguese and English   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Information sign for golden lance head viper   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
View of the outdoor jararaca enclosure   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Close up of a tongue flickering boa constrictor   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A Mexican red knee tarantula   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A racer snake , native to Central America   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
The notorious golden lance head viper of “snake island”. A critically endangered species.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
The infamous and endangered golden lancehead viper endemic to “snake island” (Ilha da quiemada). The institute coordinates the in-situ and ex-situ conservation of the species.   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
A pair of cuddling Burmese pythons (one is an albino)   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Close-up of a highly toxic cane toad , native to South America   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Instituto Butantan.   Mike Peel/CC BY-SA 4.0
Live tarantula and shed skin displayed above   Monsieur Mictlan / Atlas Obscura User
Instituto Butantan.   Mike Peel/CC BY-SA 4.0
Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil.   Mike Peel/CC BY-SA 4.0
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About

The Instituto Butantan is located in a large outdoor park near the campus of the University of Sao Paulo, attracting more than 300,000 people annually, and is one of the main sights of the city of São Paulo.

Affiliated with the Ministry of Health of São Paulo, is one of the largest biomedical research centers in the world, accounting for more than 93% of serums and vaccines produced in Brazil, among them diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, seasonal influenza, H1N1 and most recently COVID-19.

The institute is world-renowned for its collection of venomous snakes, including its 407 varieties of pit viper, rattlesnake, elapids (cobras), mamba, and colubrid species as well as lizards (including venomous species such as the Gila monster), spiders, scorpions and amphibians such as poison dart frogs. Producing vaccines and sera for prophylactic and curative. Conducts scientific missions at home and abroad through the World Organization and Pan American Health Organization, Unicef, and the UN. Cooperates in fighting epidemic outbreaks with agencies of the Department of Health and Ministry of Health, National Institute of Health, U.S., Bill & Melinda Foundation, Bill Gates' foundation dedicated to research and community action in health.

In addition to the serpentarium, which consists of terrariums and spacious outdoor concrete snake-filled enclosures, there is also a historical museum with information about the museum's founder Dr. Vital Brasil, a biological museum, and a museum of microbiology.

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Know Before You Go

Close to Butantã metro station (on the yellow line).

The deadly Jararaca pit vipers kept in the first of the three outdoor snake enclosures can be hard to see for much of the day. If you are keen to see them in all their sinister serpentine beauty check out the enclosure just before sunset when they begin to become much more lively. You won't be disappointed.

Be sure to see the famous golden lanceheads in the snake house as well as their less famous relative the Alcatraz viper (the institute is the only place in the world where this species can be seen outside of its natural habitat-the Alcatrazes Islands).

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Added By

Josh

Published

November 24, 2008

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