Distant shot of skink gaurding her eggs (above)

Close up shot of female skink gaurding her eggs above (photos by Mark Khosravi)

Well we didn’t find any King or Queen Snakes today but did manage to find a nice female skink guarding her eggs. She was kind enough to pause for a quick photo.   Tony Bulmer (Naturalist at  ECLP) who discovered the skink said female skinks will often leave their eggs ungaurded to seek the warmth of sunlight. When they return to their nest they use the warmth they absorbed to further incubate their eggs. Another behavioral characteristic is that female skinks will sometimes urinate on their eggs to keep prevent dessication.  These photos were taken underneath the bark of a fallen tree several feet from Big Rocky Run near Cabels Mill.