The Herald takes a crawl with scorpions
Scorpions are less scary than you think.
The scorpion king from Randfontein, Jonathan Leeming, had yet another scorpion walk on Saturday informing people about the little critters who is said to be more afraid of people than people are of them.
The night walk was held at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve in Roodepoort. With 19 members from the public and two members of Friends of Kloofendal (FroK), the team set out with flashlights and Ultra Violet (UV) lights to spot and learn about scorpions.
UV lights are used at night to spot scorpions as they glow an almost turquoise colour under UV light. The night didn’t yield as many scorpions as it would in the daytime. Not many were found also due to little or no rainfall recently in the area.
The team came across three types of scorpions; an hadogenes gunningi, uroplectes triangulifer and an opistophthalmus pugnax.
“All the scorpions found were not very poisonous. The worst of the affects of their bites would be sharp localised pain for a short while followed by pins and needles for about a day,” Jonathan said.
On treating scorpion stings he said scorpions in Gauteng are not deadly but when stung by one, identifying the scorpion is key to treatment and once that is done, Jonathan said,
There are a lot of psychological symptoms when being stung by a scorpion so when treating someone who has been stung, keep them calm because there is nothing you can do once the venom is in you.”
This is specifically for scorpions in Gauteng because they are as poisonous as those found in the lowveld.
For any other scorpion, Jonathan said to seek medical care immediately because scorpions have neurotoxic venom which affects the nervous system and subsequently, paralysis can set in.
The danger, he said, is that involuntary muscles such as the heart and respiratory muscles can stop working causing organ failure. He, however, assured that those are extreme cases.
For more information on venomous animals and how to treat their bites and stings, visit jonathanleeming.com and to book a scorpion walk or any other guided nature walk at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve, visit kloofendalfriends.yolasite.com or call 011 674 2980 or 079 693 5608.
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Also read:
VIDEO: Up close and personal with scorpions
GALLERY: Scorpion expert takes children on tour
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