The Victoria Bug Zoo will be welcoming an eight-legged celebrity this weekend after it journeys across the Strait of Georgia to its new home.
Earlier in May, a woman found a scorpion in her Vancouver home. Rather than killing it, she took it to Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge.
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Veterinarian Dr. Adrian Walton thought it was one of the less-venomous types, which show up at the animal hospital a few times a year.
However, an e-mail from the Victoria Bug Zoo told him it was a type of bark scorpion with venom that’s more potent that others.
“They’re all venomous. The question is how venomous?” Walton said.
Walton will be taking the scorpion over to the Victoria Bug Zoo on the ferry on Saturday. He said he is not comfortable having the scorpion with him.
READ MORE: Updated: woman finds scorpion in kitchen, drives it to B.C. animal hospital
He said if people are stung by a bark scorpion, they are more likely to get really sick, have painful swelling and should get medical treatment. He said if people are allergic, a sting could be fatal.
A spokesperson at the Victoria Bug Zoo said the scorpion will likely be given a few days to settle into the zoo in its own tank before being introduced to others of its species.
Public will be able to see it the day it arrives.
The zoo will also confirm the species of the scorpion once it is there since scorpion coloration varies vastly under different light conditions.
-With files from Phil Melnychuk
shalu.mehta@goldstreamgazette.com