Emperor Scorpion P. imperator What is the history of my relationship to man? The emperor's size, relatively low toxicity, and life span make it the most popular scorpion in the pet trade, which has led to such over-collecting in the wild that it is now a CITES listed animal, meaning it is threatened with extinction if exportation and other threats, such as development, are not regulated. Habitat / Climate Where am I from? . Tropical forests The Emperor Scorpion is found in the tropical forests and savannas Map Savanna wet to dry and humid to hot of Africa, including Togo, Chana, Benin, Chad, Guinea, Liberia and the Congo region. Who are my relatives? Number of species Commonly thought to be insects, scorpions are actually in the same 1,400 family as spiders, ticks and mites. Maximum Offspring How am I born? The Emperor Scorpion bears it’s young live 1,500 How long does it take me to grow up and how long do I live? We reach sexual maturity near the age of four and our gestation period is around seven to nine months. Mothers will sometimes continue to feed their young, even after the children have Breeding Season developed enough to live on their own. Their life span usually ranges from 5-8 years when J F M A M J J A S O N D held in captivity,[2] but is likely shorter in the wild. A E A P A U U U E C O E N B R R Y N L G P T V C What kind of family life do I have? We burrow into the soil and can be found under rocks, logs and other forest debris. We hunt at Names night (nocturnal,) using our sensory hairs to detect nearby prey. We rarely sting smaller prey, preferring to grasp our prey in our claws and tear the victim apart. We are unusually social Male Female compared to other scorpions. We occasionally live in small family groups of a mother and her Young offspring. What do I eat and when do I eat? Mostly ground dwelling insects and other invertebrates (lacking a backbone.) We will occasionally feed on small vertebrates (having a backbone,) such as baby lizards or mice. Who are my predators? Birds, bats, small mammals, large spiders, centipedes and lizards. Comments: All scorpions have poor eyesight, good hearing and a good sense of touch. Body hairs are used to detect air and ground vibrations..