Are There Scorpions in the Yucatan?

April 3rd, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

Filed Under: Mexico Wildlife • Print

When we first moved here, we asked this question to most of the people we met. “Oh, sure, ” they would say,” they definitely have them…but we’ve seen maybe two in our lives.” When my dad moved here to Telchac Puerto, he reported seeing a couple of tiny ones outside. So we thought, fine, tiny ones you can deal with, and we’ve STILL never seen one outside of a pet store in Gran Plaza.

But then, not five minutes ago, this big mamma jamma right here came strolling into our carport:

All that really comes to mind is, “holy loving christ.” Now, for scale, here he is post-mortem next to a one peso piece, which is a little smaller than a US nickle:.

Jillian is huddling on the couch, mumbling her own name over and over in an effort to comfort herself. All I know for certain is, I would really, really, REALLY like to avoid being stung by one of these, pretty much for the rest of my life. That can be a standing request.

There Are 7 Responses So Far. »

1. 

   Comment by Nate on 3 April 2007:

   Ah yes, scorpions. Holy crap it’s scary to see one in the flesh. And that sucker is huge. I’ve killed 4 in the last 14 months in my apartment, 2 of them on the wall 3 feet from the head of my bed. Not cool. That being said, other than the first one http://nateinmorelia.blogspot.com/2006/04/rim-chop.html
   they were all pretty small. Just make sure to shake out your shoes in the morning. I’m told it’s a favorite hiding place. Honest.
2. 

   Comment by Mom on 3 April 2007:

   Imagine my surprise seeing them in my bathroom right here in the Panhandle. Apparently they like to go after water..so…shoes on in the bathroom, and actually where ever you feel the slightest bit nervous…Urk..hate them.
3. 

   Comment by Matt on 3 April 2007:

   Can that even be killed? 25lb sledge or something?
4. 

   Comment by Matt on 3 April 2007:

   Time to buy a mongoose.
5. 

   Comment by Mom on 4 April 2007:

   Shaking out your shoes is also good for cockroaches and centipedes.
6. 

   Comment by kathy on 6 April 2007:

   I’ve been told by many Mexicans that the most poisonous ones are the small ones. That said, I totally freaked myself out when I found one crawling on my sneaker/runner/tennis shoe while climbing pyramids in Calakmul.
7. 

   Comment by Emily O on 14 April 2007:

   These are sadly very common – so are ferdilances -the super poisonous snake that will actually chase you for up to a mile! The locals kill them with the dull side of the machete rather than the sharp side because if you chop the snakes head off it can spring up and bite you! Also, people here are terrified of….geckos!!! They think they have stingers in their tails! Finally -just wait til you come across one of the weirdest creatures I’ve seen -the tailless whip scorpion -It’s huge but really spindly and hangs out in the bathroom. It reminds me of Odilon Redon’s paintings & drawings (cyclops & spider combined). It was also featured as the bug that Mad Dog Moody tortures in the last Harry Potter movie. Here’s a link to a photo of one : http://www.mtu.edu/current/student_abroad/images/2005/cr_scorpion_lg.jpg

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