Christmas Island blue-tailed skinks head to Horsburgh Island | Parks Australia

Wednesday 8 July 2026

One of the world's rarest reptiles has taken another step towards recovery, with 545 Christmas Island blue-tailed skinks released into the wild on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos (Keeling) archipelago.

Christmas Island blue-tailed skink on a mossy log.

The skink is declared Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List and is no longer found in its natural habitat on Christmas Island. The small (10–12 centimetres), insect-eating lizards have dark, striped bodies with distinctive bright blue tails.

In 2010, the species was on the brink of total extinction as introduced predators swept across Christmas Island.

A rapid rescue effort by Parks Australia staff at Christmas Island National Park saved 66 individuals before the remaining wild population vanished.

Those 66 skinks provided the foundation for a successful breeding and conservation program over more than 15 years. In 2019 and 2020, wild colonies were established on the tiny tropical islands of Pulu Blan and Pulu Blan Madar in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Horsburgh Island is the third colony in the Cocos group to receive a population of blue-tailed skinks. At 50 times the size of either Pulu Blan or Pulu Blan Madar, Horsburgh has the potential to support a bigger and more resilient population.

Christmas Island blue-tailed skink on a log.