Eastern Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua scincoides) Fact Sheet: Population & Conservation Status

Population estimates

• Considered common to abundant (Shea 2017)
  • No population estimates reported

IUCN

• Least Concern (2017 assessment) (Shea 2017)
  • Wide distribution
• Population trends
  • T. s. scincoides likely stable
  • T. s. intermedia populations may be declining

CITES

• Not listed (UNEP 2018)

Government laws and regulations

• Protected as a native species of Australia (Australian Government, Department of Environment and Energy)
  • Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999)
  • Ban on export of reptiles from Australia since the 1970s (Werning 2004)
    • Some exceptions; does not include Tiliqua species
  • Regulations regarding protection, collection, trade, and captive keeping of animals lie with Australia’s states (Werning 2004)
    • Examples (not comprehensive)
      • Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act (2014) (Northern Territory Government)
      • Nature Conservation Act (1992) (Queensland Government)
  • Traditional use of reptiles by Aboriginal peoples (e.g., as food) is allowed (Werning 2004)
    • Some restrictions
• Not protected in New Guinea (Werning 2004)

Urban and suburban hazards

(Shine and Koenig 2001; Koenig et al. 2002; Scheelings 2015)

• Injured by pets
  • Dogs and cats
• Hit by motor vehicles
• Injured by garden equipment
• Removed by property owners
  • On the other hand, may be used to reduce snails in gardens (Stanbury and Phipps 1980; Jennifer Hardell, personal communication, 2018)
• Frequently admitted to wildlife rescue centers in southeastern Australia
  • See “Relationship with Humans” (in Interspecies Interactions in Behavior & Ecology)

Pet trade

• Popular species because of its blue tongue (Mancera et al. 2014)
  • Transportation mortality averages above 5% due to poor transport conditions
• Export of wild-caught specimens from Australia is banned (Unverzagt 2004)

Cane toads

• Cane toads (Rhinella marina) are an invasive species in Australia (Price-Rees et al. 2010; Price-Rees, Webb, et al. 2013)
  • Distributed widely across northern tropical Australia
  • Possesses chemical defenses
    • Poisonous to native predators
• Significant threat, especially to northern T. s. intermedia (Price-Rees et al. 2010; Shea 2017)
  • Skinks likely to die, if ingest a cane toad
  • T. scincoides has disappeared from much of its former range in northern Australia (Price-Rees, Webb, et al. 2013)
• Approaches to increase skink survival:
  • Taste aversion training (Price-Rees, Webb, et al. 2013)
  • Management of cane toad populations (e.g., Shine and Doody 2011)
    • Has proved ineffective

Protected areas

• This species occurs in many protected areas (Shea 2017)
  • 46 National Parks in Queensland

Taste aversion training

• Used to reduce losses due to cane toad poisoning (Shea 2017)
• See “Cane toads” in Threats to Survival, above

The eastern blue-tongued skink is common and adapts well to urban areas—but faces several threats.

Populations are harmed by habitat loss, feral animals, and humans who don't want these lizards on their property. In northern Australia, many skinks also die when they try to eat poisonous, non-native cane toads.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.