Brave scorpion just wants to visit the UK, escapes near death-by-wash
LONDON -- After returning from holiday in Mexico, a UK family in Rochdale, Lancashire, discovered an unusual sight in their laundry -- a 3in (8cm) long orange scorpion.
Perhaps even more extraordinarily, rather than finishing off the highly venomous creature following its ordeal in the washing machine, the kindhearted family contacted the animal charity the RSPCA.
The BBC reports RSPCA animal collection officer John Greaves as saying, "They [the family] were really worried about him when they got in touch as the clothes he was inside had just been through the wash.
"They said he looked like he was dying. But he's obviously a tough little creature because he's survived his ordeal."
Because of the family's actions, the scorpion, believed to be from the Mexican desert, is safely recovering at a specialist rescue centre and shop.
"If it's an adult, then it's likely to be highly venomous due to its size and the conditions it would hunt in out in the wild," Greaves elaborated, "It would require a very potent venom to immobilise its prey."
No word yet on whether HRH the Queen will be extending a knighthood to the resilient arachnid, but the scorpion survived a 10-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean and a cycle through the wash -- just to visit our foggy island.
If nothing else, this story that has the makings of an epic plotline for A Bug's Life 3.
