This creature’s a master of disguise — and hiding in this photo. Can you find it?
A sharp-clawed, scaly creature with piercing yellow eyes would rather remain hidden in this Montana photo.
ZooMontana snapped a photo of a camouflaged reptile and asked the public for help spotting it.
“Can you find Gizmo the prehensile-tailed skink?” the zoo posted to Facebook on Tuesday, April 11.
If you need a hint, the skink peers its head out of a hollowed tree stump, stuffed with leafy branches, the photo shows.
This species of skink is native to Solomon Islands, which are northeast of Australia. The rainforest lizards live in tall trees and are named after their helpful tails.
“They get their name from their prehensile tail, which wraps around anything it touches, and acts as a ‘fifth limb,’ helping them navigate their life in the trees,” the zoo’s executive director Jeff Ewelt told McClatchy News by email.
The prehensile-tailed skink is also the largest of the skink family, Ewelt said.
Gizmo, the creature in the photo, was born in December 2020 at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, he said.
He was then moved to ZooMontana in August 2021. Lizards like him can live up to 15 years and grow up to 2.5 feet long, according to The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
Zoogoers can try to spot Gizmo in real life at the “Living Wall” exhibit.
“He’s a fun animal to look for thanks to (his) incredible camouflage,” Ewelt said.
This story was originally published April 12, 2023 at 1:16 PM with the headline "This creature’s a master of disguise — and hiding in this photo. Can you find it?."
