Scorpions, Lions … and more rain!

Heavy rains and thunderstorms – again! This year is starting as wet as the last one has ended.

In the morning we showed our guests a Scorpion (in the few hours without rain). This is a picture collage of me presenting one of the large Scorpion species to our group of Swedish guests at our morning coffee stop. Bheki found this impressive specimen under a stone. After the presentation he returned “our performer” back to its stony home 🙂

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On the evening game drive we were lucky to find a Lioness with her two cubs just before the skies opened and before the rains drove us back to the Tented Camp.

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PS: The picture with me and the Scorpion were taken by one of our guests – Thanks a lot!

About Scorpions:

Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger. Scorpions range in size from 9 mm to 20 cm.

All known scorpion species possess venom and use it primarily to kill or paralyze their prey so that it can be eaten. In general, it is fast-acting, allowing for effective prey capture. It is also used as a defense against predators. Of the 1000+ known species of scorpion, only 25 have venom that is deadly to humans; most of those belong to the family Buthidae. However, all scorpions are able to penetrate human skin and deliver sharp, unpleasant stings, most of which usually leave redness around the stung area.