Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Skeletor: Creature from Hades

I have told you all before about the creepily large (six inches or more) spiders that adorn my walls here in Botswana. They are fast, they are flat, they are hairy, they are a wee be scary looking, but most importantly they are harmless. So ga go na mathata, right? Right! Well, my friends and fellow followers, they are not the only creature that lurks our homesteads. No siree. The creature I'm about to tell you about is real and trolling the sandy paths of Botswana...

What you see before you is a "camel spider." We have not-so-affectionately started calling him SKELETOR due to its villainous appearance and satan-like ways! There is no way around it, this guy is terrifying! I was told about the "devil's pet" by the guy that I replaced from Bots 8 and then I had the horrifying story validated by my village mate, Mary, from Bots 9. I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. How could something like this actually exist?! So what did I do? I did research. Oh boy do I wish I hadn't because what I learned was worse than I could have imagined... The skeletor is this: a half spider and half scorpion that has a running speed of approximately 10mph, "screaming" when it reaches that maximum speed, and literally munches (not bites) its prey (which are said to be small rodents). They come in all sizes, from just a few inches long to larger than a hand (like the one pictured here). I kid you not, these creatures from the underworld are goons! 

Fortunately, to date, I have not had one come into my house (knock on wood) but I have encountered them in various other locations, specifically at Mary's house which is only five doors down. The site of them careening across the room usually sends us screaming and running in all directions. If you can hear me scream all the way in America, I am probably being gobbled up by a skeletor. Please send help.

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