Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Thompson River University

With neon blue tails and names from alligators and tigers, some of the South Okanagan’s native species seem tropical and exotic.

Western skink lizards are the local creatures that can be found with bright neon blue tails, but only before the event of a major attack, because those blue tails can be discarded. They don't look as pretty after regenerating.

“If a predator grabs the skink by the tail, it will detach it,” according to Valarie Maida, Stewardship officer with the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society. “The tail will grow back but it won’t be blue anymore.”

A Western skink lizard.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Thompson River University

Also, the blue tends to be brightest when the lizards are younger.

Maida said hikers are most likely to see Western skinks on dry, rocky sloped areas.

“They’re a blue-listed species, or threatened species in B.C., so they’re not super endangered but not super rare either.”

READ MORE: Don't be ssscared: The 7 snakes of the Thompson-Okanagan

Alligator lizards also look like they belong in another part of the world, as they closely resemble the predator they were named after.

But Maida said they tend to be found in higher elevations across B.C.

An alligator lizard.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Thompson Rivers University

They live across southern British Columbia and as far north as Clearwater, according to an article from UBC. They can also be found in the West Kootenays and Vancouver Island.

Alligator lizards thrive in “disturbed areas,” the UBC article says, including clearcut logging areas.

Their population is believed to be stable, according to the B.C. Conservation Data Centre.

There are two species of salamanders that are native to the Okanagan, Maida said. The most commonly spotted ones are the Long-toed salamander, which have an orange stripe running down their body from head to tail.

A long-toed salamander.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Valerie Maida

But the Blotched Tiger salamander presents a more peculiar pattern. They tend to be golden yellow or olive green and are covered by black or dark grey stripes, which can appear like the pattern of a tiger.

In B.C., they can be found in the Okanagan as far north as Summerland, as far west as Keremeos in the Similkameen, and as far east as Christina Lake in the Boundary area.

A Blotched Tiger salamander.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Thompson Rivers University

It's not very often Blotched Tiger salamanders get noticed by humans, as they live most of their lives underground after breeding in a body of water, Maida said, adding that above-ground habitats are normally too dry for salamanders.

Some Blotched Tiger salamanders never leave the body of water they were born in. They adapt into neotenic salamanders, allowing them to breathe oxygen through gills rather than lungs.

“Their tail stays a bit flatter and they retain their tadpole-y features,” she said.

READ MORE: If it slithers or hops in B.C. this new Kamloops-developed website has got you covered

It’s not likely to spot the tiger-looking creatures very far from a body of water suited for breeding. They’re listed as endangered species, so their numbers are not great. And since their habitat range is so limited in B.C., Maida said they are even more susceptible to habitat loss.

Despite the bizarre features of these strange-looking species, none present any significant risk to humans.

“Rattlesnakes are the only medically significant venomous animal in the area,” Maida said.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022