MACAPA, BRAZIL — During an expedition to Tumucumaque Mountains National Park in Amapá state from Aug. 2 to 5, tour guide and biodiversity photographer Wirley Almeida, 34, photographed a green pit viper (Bothrops bilineata), a highly venomous species. The image gained attention after capturing the snake in an area known as the Giant Trees region, highlighting the diversity of Amazon wildlife.

The green pit viper is considered difficult to spot because of its nocturnal and arboreal habits. The snake spends much of its time in trees and has coloring that helps it camouflage itself in the vegetation.

What caught the guide's attention, however, was the fact that the snake was on the ground.

“During one of the expedition's outings, while we were moving around and looking for giant trees in the area, I was lucky enough to find this green pit viper. Because it is an arboreal species, it spends much of its time in trees, so it is not common to find one on the ground. That made the encounter even more special,” Almeida said.

Almeida has been documenting biodiversity since 2010 and says he is always alert to opportunities such as this one. For him, photographing the green pit viper was completely unexpected.

“When I realized it was a green pit viper, I knew I was looking at a very interesting and rare sighting. I tried to take the photographs as carefully as possible without disturbing the animal,” Almeida said.

According to Jucivaldo Dias Lima, a herpetology specialist at the Institute of Scientific and Technological Research of Amapá (Iepa), the green pit viper is difficult to find.

“It is a highly venomous animal, with venom adapted to feeding on birds. It is not commonly recorded throughout the Amazon because it is a species that lives in the canopy, but from time to time it can be found lower down,” Lima said.

Image credit: Wirley Almeida, tour guide and biodiversity photographer

Amazon Agency