Latest Resident Revealed
There was a scurrying in the bean patch… a flash of brown…
then nothing…
Something scuttling across the rocks… a hurtling streak… vanished…
Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a
locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… Not quite! From our
sightings, we knew that a skink larger than the normal Garden Skink or Fence
Skink was living in our garden.
Let’s call him ‘Superskink’.
Superskink has been living with us for at least the past two
years. He loves our goldfish pond, living at the back near our pretty little ‘waterfall’.
It provides him with lots of rocky hiding places, as well as a water source
which allows him to regulate his body temperature on hot, hot days.
Furthermore, it provides Superskink a readymade source of food: water beetles,
snails, tadpoles, spiders and maybe even some of our baby goldfish! For such a
luxurious and luxuriant home, Superskink simply has to avoid the cat! And the
blue-tongue lizards!
Superskink is skilled
at avoidance. We spot him regularly, but fleetingly… We see him. He sees us.
Gone in a flash! Never, ever a chance for photographic evidence. Then, last
week, along came our opportunity. It had rained for most of the previous day.
Overnight, it had been a very cool summer’s night. It was 8:41. Morning. There
he was, warming himself on the red garden bridge which crosses our goldfish
pond. Four glorious photographs later, child in arms, we went to investigate.
There was no sprinting away today. Superskink simply ambled from the bridge
into the Okra patch…
So, who is Superskink? Superskink is the Eastern Water
Skink. He is twice the size of a normal Garden Skink. He is a valuable backyard
citizen because he eats many of our familiar garden pests… Best to avoid those
nasty chemicals… And keep the cat indoors at night!
References…
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