FaunaClassifieds - View Single Post - Shingleback Skink found in Palolo, HI
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Old 05-03-2006, 12:38 AM   #1
Clay Davenport
Shingleback Skink found in Palolo, HI

Folks in Palolo are used to seeing lizards, but nothing like this. It's a pine cone skink, native to southern Australia.

A Palolo valley family spotted the 15-inch lizard strolling along a roadway Saturday.

It was moving slow enough for them to just scoop it up in a bucket.

The family called the Humane Society, which called the Department of Agriculture.

So how did it get here?

"It possibly could have been someone's pet that got away from them and the individual got scared and released it into the environment. So we're hoping if anyone has something like this, they turn it into the Humane Society, which would be the sensible thing to do," said Domingo Carvalho of the Dept. of Agriculture.

The Department of Agriculture says the skink will probably be donated to the Honolulu Zoo.

Lizards like these are illegal in the islands because they compete with native species for food.

http://kgmb9.com/kgmb/display.cfm?storyID=7994&sid=1183