Nights of Sheer Terror

Karen (the PCV I replaced here in Opuwo) and our Dutch neighbor, Jesse, co-owned two cats; since Karen’s departure I have inherited one-half of the cats. They roam through Jesse’s house and my house at their will. While I generally don’t mind them (they can actually provide some good amusement to help pass the quiet hours here), they have forced me to endure a few terror-filled nights.

A few weeks ago, as Karen and I sat relaxing and watching a film, I saw one of the cats prance by poking something that looked remarkably snake-like. Of course, Karen and I panicked and threw all the lights on. After much inspection of this creature, we decided that it wasn’t a snake but was in fact, a very interesting worm species; it looked like a necklace because it alternately shimmered gold and silver. Although I doubted it was of any danger too us, Karen was concerned so she swept it outside to be killed.

When Karen when outside, she discovered the cat engaged in a battle with a most horrifying creature. We weren’t sure what exactly it was but we were both terrified of it because it looked like a hybrid of two animals we don’t enjoy encountering out here – a scorpion and a spider. This “scorpion-spider” had the body of a spider but had pincher claws like a scorpion. Unlike most members of both species though, this lovely creature could jump a foot in the air and move as quick as the devil. I was so afraid of this horrific being that I barricaded myself in the kitchen and squealed like a startled pig while Karen bravely crushed the life out of it.

In informing our Namibian colleagues about this “spider-scorpion,” we have been unable to get an accurate account of what creature it is and how potentially harmful it is. General responses range from “those things will kill you” to “they just eat your hair while you sleep.” Either way, I truly hope never to see one of those things again! I cannot even begin to describe how horrifying they are.

In spite of the lectures I gave the cats on how they shouldn’t bring creatures into the house, they didn’t end with the worm or the “spider-scorpion.” The night Karen left to begin her journey back to America, the first night I was alone in Opuwo, one of the cats decided to welcome a live snake into my home! Needless to say, I really panicked this time! I contemplated running to my neighbors’ house for assistance but I was worried that the snake would get lost in the house which would have concerned me and prevented me from having a peaceful sleep. So, I decided that I had to suck it up and take care of the snake myself. After discovering my inability to kill it by repeatedly squashing it with a broom, I grabbed the nearest hard object (the paper towel holder) and forcefully crushed the snake under it.

Although some of its guts were spilled on my floor, I wasn’t entirely sure that it was dead so I left it there for a bit to see if it moved. Of course, when I wasn’t looking, the cat decided that the newly-dead snake would make an excellent snack. So she ate it. And then I spent the rest of the night worried that the cat was going to keel over at any minute for ingesting a poisonous snake. Fortunately, everyone survived the evening (accept the snake of course).

I still don’t know what kind of snake it was but when I described it to one of my colleagues, she said it was a “very dangerous” one – figures! I don’t think the cats have learned their lesson yet though for as I write this message, one of the cats is playfully bouncing a small lizard around the house. No doubt she will be chomping away at it shortly.