A distinctive blue-tailed guest recently appeared on the patio of the Dudeck home - a Western Skink.
Southern B.C. is the northern range for this family of lizards that is generally quite timid.
If feeling threatened, a Western Skink usually wiggles its way under a nearby rock or shrub using its snake-like body movement.
They never venture far from shelter.
If grabbed, either by a predator or a human, a skink will bite and ‘release’ (autotomize) its tail.
The tail will thrash and twitch for a few minutes after being dropped, which is especially distracting when the tail is the bright blue tail of a juvenile.
After autotomy, skinks slowly regenerate their tails (often as big or bigger than the original); however, the new tail is rarely, if ever, blue.
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