University of Bristol student finds live scorpion in her Shein parcel
A specialist reptile welfare team attended the accommodation to retrieve the insect
A Bristol University student found a live scorpion in her clothes parcel after it arrived at her student accommodation last week.
18-year-old Sofia Alonso-Mossinger noticed the insect crawling in the Shein package and initially thought it was a toy, before it moved.
Sofia and her flatmates secured the insect before calling the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW), who collected it.
Describing the incident, Sofia told the BBC: âI thought it was a toy â and then it moved.â
She described the situation as âbeing pretty scaryâ, but that her flatmates, also students at the University of Bristol, were able to help.
Sofia, an electrical and electronic engineering student, said: âI unzipped the outer packaging and saw something move and was like, whatâs this?â
After noticing the surprising imposter, she rezipped the bag, which contained a pair of boots, and got it out of her room, Â calling her flatmates for help.
she continued to describe the experience: âI thought I was dreaming,â she said, âI feel like I am all right with spiders and things but it was scary being in my room with a random scorpion.â
The insect was moved from her package into a tub by Oliver James, a zoology student, who was brave enough to transfer the scorpion into a plastic container with kitchen tongs.
He said: âIt was a bit nerve-wracking,â he said, as no one knew how venomous it was.
One of her flatmates, Phoebe Hunt, also 18, heard Sofiaâs screams and found her with âa live scorpion in a bag on her boots.â
Phoebe added that they were ânot exactly buzzing to have a scorpion in the flat.
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âAt first, Iâll be honest, I said we should kill it and then everyone pointed out that wasnât the most humane thing so we scooped it up and put it in a Tupperware.â
On a video Sofia shared to TikTok, she joked âHalloween costume = cancelledâ upon finding the scorpion within her clothing.
The video has racked up 1.1 million likes since it was posted three days ago (Friday 11th October), with the caption: âShein give me my money back stop airing me.â
One of her flatmates, Phoebe Hunt, also 18, heard Sofiaâs screams and found her with âa live scorpion in a bag on her boots.â
Phoebe added that they were ânot exactly buzzing to have a scorpion in the flat.
âAt first, Iâll be honest, I said we should kill it and then everyone pointed out that wasnât the most humane thing so we scooped it up and put it in a Tupperware.â
The venomous guest was given water, whilst the students called animal groups to resolve the situation.
They contacted the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (NCRW), who were able to send someone over within a couple of hours. NCRWâs Chris Newman said reports of such stowaways were surprisingly frequent.
âThe scorpion is Olivierus Martensii, it doesnât really have a common name other than Chinese scorpion,â he said.
He said its sting would be âmedically significant⌠potentially life-threatening but an average adult would just have a really bad day.
âIt is quite worrying this is the second one we have had in under a month that has come in this way.â
Shein, a China-based brand said it had conducted an internal investigation and had confirmed that âall standard operating processes have been adhered to.â
Shein has said they are in touch with Sofia to resolve the issue.
In a statement, Shein said:Â âAfter receiving the feedback, we immediately conducted an internal investigation.
âOur teams on the ground have checked the shipment packing process and carried out an inspection of the goods in our warehouse and have confirmed that all standard operating processes have been adhered to.â
Shein has been approached for a comment.Â
Featured image via @sofiaalonss on TikTok