On our patio, nogal.
OK. Not so terrifying.
He’s a Cape Skink (Trachylepis capensis) and he’s completely harmless.
Not uncommon around here either. You may remember them from previous posts on 6000 miles…
We have a family of them living in the back garden, and with the warmer weather now with us, it’s nice to see them out and about, legging it between the woodpile under the braai and the bushes on the far side of the patio.
Always with a slightly knowing smile on their little faces.
Careful now…
Who? Who’s getting big?
Our resident Cape Skink (Trachylepis capensis), unbelievelably named “Mr Skinky Skink” by someone that really should know better, is getting big. That’s who.
Resident in the braai wood pile under the braai, he’s literally like a wild pet. And we’ll never use all the braai wood in the braai wood pile, because that would mean that he didn’t have a home.
We’re hoping that if he keeps growing at the current rate, that one day he’ll be a fire-breathing dragon, which would not only be entertaining, but would also save a fortune in matches for winter fires and summer braais.
Out at the Black Oystercatcher a couple of weeks back, we spotted this Cape Skink (Trachylepsis capensis) on the way into the restaurant (us, not him).
Check the three stripe detail on those scales (bigger here). Sponsored by Adidas, clearly.
He was quite willing to pose for us, although disappeared into the “koffieklip” conglomerate when we got too close. It’s worth noting that these lizards can be domesticated, but also that wikipedia says that they “have a tendency to become quite overweight” in these cases.
This one was very tame and a seriously fat bastard.
So sure, n=1, but wikipedia seems to be spot on again.