In an unexpected turn of events, a University of Bristol student opened a clothing parcel from fast-fashion retailer Shein to find a live scorpion inside. Sofia Alonso-Mossinger, 18, initially mistook the venomous creature for a toy until it moved, leaving her startled. “I thought it was a toy—and then it moved,” she recalled. “It was pretty scary.”
With the assistance of her flatmates, Sofia safely transferred the scorpion into a container before contacting wildlife experts. Shein has been approached for a comment regarding the incident and stated that they are investigating the matter.
Sofia, who is studying electrical and electronic engineering, described her surprise: “I unzipped the outer packaging and saw something move. I was like, what’s this?” Upon realizing it was a scorpion, she quickly resealed the bag containing her new boots and called her flatmates for help.
“I thought I was dreaming,” she added. “I’m usually okay with spiders and such, but having a random scorpion in my room was terrifying.”
Flatmate Phoebe Hunt, also 18, recalled hearing Sofia scream and rushing to find her with “a live scorpion in a bag on her boots.” She expressed her concern: “We weren’t exactly thrilled to have a scorpion in the flat.” Initially, Phoebe suggested killing the scorpion, but her friends decided against it, opting instead to humanely capture it. “We scooped it up and put it in a Tupperware container,” she said.
Oliver James, another flatmate studying zoology, helped transfer the scorpion into a secure plastic container using kitchen tongs. “It was a bit nerve-wracking,” he admitted, unsure of how venomous the creature might be. The group provided the scorpion with water on a kitchen towel, which it drank immediately, along with a piece of cardboard to hide under while they sought help from animal rescue organizations.
The flatmates initially contacted the RSPCA but quickly realized it primarily focuses on domestic animals. They then reached out to the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW), which dispatched an expert within a couple of hours.
Chris Newman from NCRW explained that reports of scorpion stowaways are surprisingly common. “The scorpion is an Olivierus martensii, commonly known as the Chinese scorpion,” he noted. “Its sting can be medically significant and potentially life-threatening, though most adults would just have a really bad day.”
Fortunately, there was no sting in the tail of this story. Sofia reflected on the incident, stating, “Now it feels like a funny story… but it was pretty scary at the time.”
