This Eastern Water Skink ( Eulamprus quoyii ) was seen flouting social distancing rules to be sunbathing on a rock along the western side of the creek in Darebin Parklands.

These striking lizards, with their sleek golden brown colouring with black racing stripes speckled with white flecks are a relatively large species of skink growing up to 30cm long. It is unusual to be able to get this close to them without them darting into the undergrowth or between rocks. Perhaps it just isn’t getting enough warmth from our cool April sun.

They typically start preparing for winter in April by sunbathing and feeding as much as they can to keep warm over the coming months. They brumate in Winter, which is to say that while they don’t hibernate, they stay still to conserve energy and only leave their homes a few times to search for food. Behaviour suited to our trying times.