BAKU, August 1, 2025
A curious trend has taken hold in Azerbaijan’s social media sphere in recent weeks: an increasing number of users are offering to buy or sell black scorpions, with prices ranging from 10 to 15 manats. But what’s behind this sudden market for venomous arachnids?
According to Dr. Tyavyakkyul Iskenderov, associate professor at the Institute of Zoology under the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, the black scorpion is an exceptionally rare species found only in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
“This is one of the rarest members of our native fauna,” he explains. “Unlike the more common yellow or patterned scorpions, black scorpions are significantly larger and inhabit remote, hard-to-reach areas. Their population is extremely limited, and they are listed in Azerbaijan’s Red Book of endangered species.”
While the venom of black scorpions is indeed known to have potent bioactive properties—comparable in effect to bee or snake venom—extracting it in useful quantities is economically unfeasible. “To obtain just one gram of venom, more than 3,000 scorpions must be harvested. This makes industrial use commercially impractical,” says Iskenderov.
Given this, the recent surge in black scorpion sales likely has little to do with medical research or pharmaceuticals. More plausibly, the animals are being bought as exotic pets or for private collections.
Dr. Iskenderov warns that this trend poses a serious ecological threat. “Mass capture of rare and protected species from their natural habitats inflicts irreversible damage on the ecosystem. This kind of activity must be strictly regulated by the relevant authorities,” he said.
Environmentalists are urging government bodies to investigate and curb the online trade in black scorpions before further harm is done to this already fragile species.
