Rangers’ Diary 001

Jason Scholtz

Early this morning I awoke to my mobile phone receiving messages. It was from the resort manager informing me that one of our colleagues was stung by a scorpion and asking me to help identify what type of scorpion it was and how potentially dangerous its venom can be.

This was the photo I received:

Immediately I noticed the thick tail and small pincers.

Thick tail + small pincers = highly venomous, Buthidae Family

Thin tail + big pincers = little venom, Scorpionidae Family

One colleague thought it was a Parabuthus granulatus, which is dangerously venomous and can cause severe complications to the human body if left untreated for a long time. However, I disagreed.

This scorpion is a lesser thick-tailed scorpion belonging to the Uroplectes genus. It may cause a painful sting and symptoms that if left untreated may last for up to three days. This is the most common of all scorpion stings in southern Africa and is not life threatening.

Our colleague was hospitalised for a day to monitor the symptoms and was released the following day with no side effects.

Remember to wear closed shoes at night, because this is when scorpions are most active.