Common Five-lined Skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus) are indeed quite common, but they are so skittish that they are tough to photograph. As soon as they see me (or sense my presence), they will usually scamper away to the underside of the logs on which they like to perch. On a recent visit to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, I spotted this skink sunning itself on a log and was able to get this shot because I approached him from behind—this technique does not work as well for dragonflies, which have massive compound eyes that provide them with a field of view of almost 360 degrees.
It is always fun to encounter juvenile skinks that have bright blue tails, but this one appeared to be an adult. I noted too that its tail was intact. Like many lizards, skinks possess the unique defense mechanism of being able to drop their tail to escape predators. The dropped tail continues to wiggle, distracting the predator, while the skink flees. Skinks can regenerate their lost tail, though the new tail may differ in structure and coloration from the original.
As many of you know, I love bad “Dad” jokes and this skink reminded me of one of them. “Where do skinks go to find a replacement for a lost tail? A retail outlet.” Sorry!
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
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