After her trip to Egypt, Lieze, a woman from Leuven (Flemish Brabant) accidentally brought a deathstalker scorpion home with her. It is one of the most venomous scorpions in the world. She had put the creature in her handbag after being stung. “With all the hustle and bustle at the airport, I forgot that the scorpion was still in my bag,” she says with a laugh. The Nature Rescue Centre in Oudsbergen (Limburg) is looking after the creature for the time being.
Lieze accidentally brings one of the world’s most venomous scorpions back home from Egypt
Colin Clapson
Published:
The little creature may not look all that intimidating, but nothing could be further from the truth. The deathstalker scorpion is one of the most venomous scorpions in the world. In this case, it was a baby scorpion.
“The scorpion is very small, pale in colour and has very thin pincers,” explains Martijn Houbregs of the Nature Rescue Centre. “The scorpion’s venom is in its tail. And this one certainly contains a dangerous toxin. It is one of the most dangerous species in the world.”
Stung and taken home
The scorpion travelled back from Egypt with 39-year-old Lieze from Leuven. She was stung by the creature whilst on holiday. She says she knew nothing about the species and decided to catch the scorpion and put it in a small box. “I took that box to the hospital, where I was given an antidote,” she explains.
“When I got back to my hotel, I absolutely didn’t want to set the scorpion free, because I was afraid of being stung again. That’s why I left it in the box. With all the hustle and bustle at the airport, I forgot that the scorpion was still in my handbag during the return journey. When I got home, I realised it was a very dangerous species. That’s when I decided to ring the Nature Rescue Centre.”
Lieze wasn’t afraid. “Actually, I thought it was really lovely to see an animal like that in real life. It was a really tiny baby scorpion, not even 2 centimetres long. That’s why I was lucky, because there wasn’t that much venom in my body. I did feel pain, but it wasn’t any worse than a wasp sting,” says Lieze with a laugh.
Deadly sting
Lieze was indeed lucky, because the venom of a deathstalker scorpion can have serious consequences. “For a healthy adult, a sting will be painful but not fatal. However, it can make people very ill,” they explain at the Nature Rescue Centre. “For children and older people, it can be fatal. Fortunately, with today’s medication, it’s certainly possible to survive such a sting,” adds Martijn Houbregs.
The scorpion is now being cared for behind locked doors, whilst awaiting a new home. “Accidents can happen in the blink of an eye, so we’re taking every precaution to prevent anything going wrong. It remains an exceptional little creature to look after here, so we really have to be careful.”
“We’re now looking for a specialist sanctuary. That could be a zoo, or a laboratory that works with venom. It’s not clear yet,” concludes Martijn.