Scorpions in Oman!!!

Posted on July 28, 2010 | 10 Comments

This was the first scorpion I’ve laid my eyes on in Oman! It’s a good thing that sucker was dead on its back! Since seeing that thing down in Salalah, I find myself looking down to see if anything is crawling near my feet every now and then, haha! After doing some “googling”, I’ve found that there are quite a few scorpions in the Sultanate. Here’s a list of scorpions in Asia and the Middle East if you like pics of scary looking scorpions. Here’s a vid of a scorpion that one couple saw while camping at Jabel Akhdar! This Saudi guy obviously isn’t afraid of scorpions. He ate 22 of them! While surfing the net for “scorpions in Oman”, I found this article from the Omani Press (back in 2006) which reports that there are SEVERAL HUNDRED snake and scorpion bites every year in Oman. Now instead of worrying only about scorpions, that article’s got me worried about snakes as well! 🙂

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10 responses to “Scorpions in Oman!!!”

Omani Princess Not Omani | July 29, 2010 at 7:41 am | Reply

I used to catch the little, more poisonous ones, when I lived in Ras Al Hamra, in jars, as a child, and then freak out my sister. I came from a place where no snakes or bugs were poisonous so I had no fear of them. I scared alot of Omanis right out when I went to go pick up a viper. I am like, “I love garden snakes.” oooooh lol. What a commotion I made.
andydbrown | July 29, 2010 at 11:08 am | Reply

Ha!ha! You must have been a handful!
You bring back memories of my brother, Mark, who would eat spiders thinking that it would transform him into “spider man”!
SAGITTARIUS | August 5, 2010 at 8:21 pm | Reply

Ha!ha!
did he try the Black Widow spiders?

Someone from Kelowna (city of British Columbia , 100,000 population) wrote:

Kelowna’s nature and wild animals
by Fixer 166 » Mar 19th, 2008, 7:10 pm

I enjoy the outdoors more than most.
I’ve seen rattlesnakes on the canyon trail in OK mountain park as well as a bobcat on the trail to the upper lakes. I’ve also seen a bull snake on the trail around the bear creek falls.
As far as black widows go I find six to a dozen on my property every summer here in beautiful glenmore.
I have also heard of scorpions but have yet to see one.
I may be wrong but isn’t Kelowna on the northern tip of a desert?
andydbrown | August 6, 2010 at 2:59 pm | Reply

I don’t think he’d be around today if he tried eating black widows haha! 🙂

Kelowna has a semi-arid climate and is located next to Canada’s only official desert, Osoyoos Desert. So yes, you’re right about it being on the tip of a desert.

By the way, you are from Vancouver, aren’t you? (something you posted in a previous comment…)
Muhammad Al Shanfari | December 16, 2010 at 4:27 pm | Reply

Hello Andy!

There is a long list of snakes in Dhofar, many can kill you in few minutes, like Dhofar saw-scaled viper Echis khosatzkii:

And the puff adder Bitis arietans arietans that poison can break your bones!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitis_arietans

There are a lot of snakes that haven’t been recorded yet in Dhofar, like the 2 sp. of pythons which are seen at night more, and other sp. of cobra that I’ve seen in 1994 in black and red color, or might be a variety of the Arabian cobra.

There is a book called “Snakes of Arabia” that can help you with many of them, but not all 🙂 Just be careful when it feels hot, but it’s extremely hard to find snakes during Khareef and Winter, and watch out of the trees more while moving for the hanging ones, and watch the lazy puff adder from underneath!

BTW, I think that scorpion is the “Deathstalker” Leiurus quinquestriatus, it’s hard for it to kill a grown man, but can make you sick for weeks if you don’t go to hospital. If it wasn’t too small, it can kill very easily:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathstalker

Photo:

Bigger scorpions aren’t that poisonous in contrast here in Dhofar, in case you find any.

Travel safely!
andydbrown | December 18, 2010 at 8:03 am | Reply

Muhammad,
Thanks for all the info. All your info on snakes and scorpions makes me all the more nervous about running into one, ha!ha! 🙂 Cheers!
Shagyidah | September 10, 2017 at 11:24 am | Reply

Funny but I got a scorpion bite last night in my bed…. it was a small scorpion and I knew it was it coz I had seen them in the movies… I’m really worried of what mayhappen to me…
Anonymous | October 19, 2020 at 1:12 pm | Reply

it’s soooooo scary 😬🤢🤮🤧😰😱😥😨😱
Anonymous | October 19, 2020 at 1:17 pm | Reply

scary
Anonymous | October 19, 2020 at 1:18 pm | Reply

scorpion bite last night in my bed…. just kidding