A fly-fishing guide's photograph has led conservation researchers to a possible new population of Canterbury spotted skinks in the Torlesse Tussocklands area, between Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park and Castle Hill/Kura Tāwhiti.
The lizards had not been seen in that area for more than 50 years. After experts identified the animal in the photograph, researchers visited the site and found three more skinks.
The Canterbury spotted skink is classified as Nationally Endangered, and fewer than 1,000 are thought to remain. Its former stronghold at Kaitorete Spit, near Christchurch, has collapsed.
The discovery does not solve the species' problems, since mice, hedgehogs, weasels, rats, stoats, and cats still threaten it. But it gives conservationists a new place to learn about and protect these rare native lizards.
