Reptiles at Risk

Point Pelee and the Five-Lined Skink!

Posted by Jeff Hathaway on August 11, 2009 at 9:16 AM

As I write this I am sitting on a picnic table surrounded by drying laundry. Since we had a bit less happening this week, it was a great opportunity to wash some of the clothing piling up in the trailer. Unfortunately, not long after we lay all our clothes out to dry it started pouring rain, and continued all day. We did think about going to use a dryer, but it was hot enough today that things dried fairly quickly out in the sun.

On Sunday this week we had an excellent day at Pelee National Park. It was beautiful looking out on Lake Erie from the point, and as the most southern point of mainland Canada, this park has incredible diversity of wildlife. We heard many reports of people seeing Northern Water Snakes, Eastern Fox Snakes, Snapping Turtles and Five-Lined Skinks around the park.

The skink is one that we were very excited to hear about, because as Ontario's only lizard species they are often overlooked. These pretty little lizards are very shy and don't come out in the open very often, however they are very beautiful to see. Their brown body has five yellow lines running down it's back, and when it is young it has a bright blue tail - and this tail can be dropped as a distraction for predators who try to eat the skink. This is one reason why it is very important not to disturb these creatures in the wild. The tail also serves as a storage space for fat and energy from food, and the lizard can use this reserve in harder times when food is unavailable. The lizard can't tell the difference between a curious human and a hungry predator, and if a person picks them up they may drop their tail. They will be able to grow it back with time, but if food is scarce it may not be able to survive without their energy reserve.

The Five-Lined Skink is another one of Ontario's reptiles at risk, which is another reason not to disturb them. There are not many of them left in the wild, so they need our protection - like many other species that can be found on Point Pelee!

Robin