This western skink was spotted on a Penticton property on July 25.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Teresa Taylor
July 30, 2024 - 7:00 AM
A Penticton woman captured a photo of a western skink last week when it scurried across her property with its signature bright blue tail.
It has been almost a decade since Teresa Taylor last spotted one of the elusive reptiles in the South Okanagan.
“It streaked across my patio and went under my propane fire pit that has a cover on it,” she said. “I carefully lifted it up and there it was.”
The reptiles are not often spotted out in the open as they prefer areas with lots of cover and debris, and hibernate in rocky slopes. The species has a restricted range, found in south-central BC between Kootenay Lake in the east and Princeton in the west, and south in the western United States.
Western skinks are listed as a species of special concern both provincially and federally due to threats to its habitat from development, and conservation efforts are ongoing to protect it.
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Taylor said she acted quickly and carefully to capture a photo of the skink on July 25.
“It was very brief but very rewarding,” she said. “They can be elusive and I feel fortunate to have seen one again.”
Western skinks grow up to 20 centimetres in length. The tail remains blue through adulthood. They drop their tails as a defense mechanism against predators and while the tail will grow back over time, it costs the creature energy and can negatively affect its growth.
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