Scorpion found in wrestling mats delivered to Oxford County wrestling club
Scorpion native to Texas found inside shipment to Odin’s Holl Wrestling Club in Paris, Maine
PARIS, Maine —
The owners of a wrestling club in Oxford County found a surprise when they opened their new shipment of wrestling mats. Hidden in the cracks of one of the mats was a scorpion.
Owner Christina McAlister said the team at Odin’s Holl Wrestling Club in Paris, Maine, was unloading wrestling mats that had just arrived from EZ Flex Sport Mats in Texas. Each mat was wrapped in plastic and needed to be inspected before McAlister signed off on the shipment.
McAlister said while looking over the mats, her husband, Seth, pointed out a strange-looking bug. She first thought he was messing with the kids until he said it could be a scorpion.
Hearst OwnedOdin’s Holl Wrestling Club / Christina McAlister
Baby striped bark scorpion found inside wrestling mats
McAlister caught the animal in a plastic bag and was able to get a closer look. She said they thought it was dead at first because it wasn’t moving, but then the small scorpion came to life.
The wrestling club contacted Mr. Drew and His Animals Too, an interactive and educational experience that specializes in exotic animals and reptiles, to take in the scorpion. The experts at Mr. Drew’s identified it as a baby striped bark scorpion, one of the most common species of scorpion in Texas.
While it’s not often that Mr. Drew’s takes on stowaway creatures, it has happened before. The team at Mr. Drew’s said they have seen black widows, geckos and other scorpions come to Maine in shipments. This isn’t even their first striped bark scorpion, as one was previously found in a shipment of bottle caps from Mexico that arrived at the Poland Spring bottling plant.
This most recent stowaway scorpion, named “Odin” by the wrestling club, will be incorporated into Mr. Drew’s educational program.
If you find something like a scorpion in your package, you can contact Mr. Drew’s or the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife for help.