Rancor & Khaeryne

Rancor & Khaeryne are two Emperor Scorpions who were abandoned along with a two others (one Asian Forest Scorpion, Gremlin, and a third Emperor Scorpion who died shortly after rescue) when their owner no longer wished to care for them. The four animals were being kept on sand - an inappropriate substrate for a tropical species - in a 3g Kritter Keeper, well below the minimum tank size for a single scorpion. The aggressive Asian Forest Scorpion had out-competed the other animals for food, resulting in Rancor and Khaeryne to be seriously underweight.
There was also insufficient water offered for the group, causing dehydration among all three survivors and most likely the cause of death for the fourth. The suffering of this maligned animal demonstrates the price of both ignorance and a lack of regard for "lower" animal like invertebrates.
(Above: Khaeryne Left: Rancor upon rescue, underweight and dehydrated. This image shows him drinking water frantically upon being introduced to his new habitat, a behavior that lasted for nearly five full minutes.)

The focus of this blog, however, will not be on problems with the exotics industry or the suffering of invertebrates. There is an even darker side to the strife of the emperor scorpion: they have been listed by CITES II as a threatened species since 1995, yet are still almost 100% wild caught (WC) for the pet trade. As the single most commonly sold species of scorpion in pet stores, the Emperor Scorpion is severely threatened by over-collection, yet a lack of awareness and widespread apathy has resulted in a failure to stop the trade in this vulnerable species. Even "enthusiasts" of scorpions and other arachnids routinely sell imported WC scorpions since captive breeding is not profitable (but selling imports at a high mark-up is!).

All too often, the popularity of a given species is its demise. Much as parrots once suffered serious declines in wild populations due to collection for the pet trade, the Emperor Scorpion's simple husbandry needs, hardiness, docile temperament, and large size have created in an appeal that is literally stripping the wild of the species. However, unlike parrots, which have widely endearing qualities resulting in a strong push for advocacy, Emperor Scorpions are lumped into a category of undesirables that many people even within the rescue community are unwilling to fight to protect. Indeed, in addition to their suffering in the pet trade, these animals are routinely bought en-masse for movies, manhandled on game shows like Fear Factor, eaten as a novelty, and otherwise exploited with no contest, due to a lack of awareness and/or a lack of compassion.

It is important to never buy an Emperor Scorpion unless you are certain that it comes from captive bred (not captive born, which implies a second gen with wild caught parent) lines. Pet store individuals are guaranteed to be wild caught, and expo or online vendors typically sell WC as well unless otherwise specified. The 9-18 month gestation, small number of offspring, and frequent scorpling mortality makes the Emperor Scorpion unprofitable to breed in captivity. While a few enthusiasts of the species are fighting hard to establish captive bred lines to protect the scorpions from collection, these efforts are in their infancy. Thus, for the time being, there are very few ways outside of adoption to ethically acquire an Emperor Scorpion.

It is also worth questioning the validity of keeping Emperor Scorpions in captivity overall. One interested in keeping one of these magnificent animals should consider what is more important: the desire to "have" an animal as a pet, or the need for its species to continue surviving and thriving in the wild as it ought to. Like a tiger or a wolf, the Emperor Scorpion is a wild animal with no real place in captivity, and whose very survival is threatened by humanity due to exploitation. Can we really excuse the continued presence of these animals in the pet trade, something fueled entirely by consumer demand, and truly profess to care about wildlife or conservation? Likewise, can anyone consider themselves to be an ethical steward of animals if they purchase a threatened species, without doing the research to know of their situation or having done so but simply not caring? Personally, I think not.

I will leave you with a final quote to consider, as I feel it is very pertinent to the Emperor Scorpion and other exotics who are largely wild caught:
"Those who wish to pet and baby wildlife love them, but those who respect their natures and wish to let them live their natural lives, love them more."
- Edwin Way Teale