How blue tailed skinks were saved from extinction
On Christmas Island, the blue-tailed skink was facing rough times. Their numbers had been steadily declining for years because not only did they look good, they apparently tasted good. Predators were decimating them on the island. So, some really smart people scooped up the remaining 66 skinks and put them into captivity where they would be safe from predators, because when predation is the threat accelerating extinction, captivity is the obvious solution. The last remaining skinks were held in captivity and bred while a solution was sought.
Fortunately for the skinks, this plan worked. The original 66 plus 150 of their descendants were released onto Pulu Blan, a little island near their original home of Christmas Island. Lucky for skink fans, Pulu Blan has a distinct difference - it is free of predators! The tiny 2.5 g resplendent skinks can frolic uninhibited…and all is right with the world again.
It does make one wonder why this very obvious and fairly straight forward stop-gap solution isn’t practiced more often?
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