Critically endangered australian alpine skinks show hope for survival as captive breeding program yields first pregnancies

A small but significant victory is unfolding in Victoria’s Alpine National Park, where eleven critically endangered Guthega skinks released into a protected enclosure are about to become thirteen. Omeo, one of the female skinks in the group, is expected to give birth in March—marking a crucial milestone for one of Australia’s rarest alpine reptiles.

The Guthega skink represents one of Australia’s only alpine lizard species, surviving exclusively on what scientists call “sky islands”—isolated mountain peaks above 1,600 meters in just two locations: Victoria’s Bogong High Plains and New South Wales’s Mount Kosciuszko region. These remarkable lizards have adapted to some of the continent’s harshest environments, but their specialized habitat is now working against them.

“They’re extremely vulnerable, given where they live,” explains Dr. Zak Atkins, skink specialist and director of Snowline Ecology. As global temperatures rise, the alpine zones these skinks depend on are steadily shrinking upward, leaving the animals with nowhere higher to retreat. This climate-driven habitat loss has pushed the species to the brink of extinction, making every successful birth a conservation victory.

The captive breeding program’s early success offers a glimmer of hope for the species’ long-term survival. While two additional skinks may seem modest, each birth represents invaluable genetic diversity and breeding potential for future generations. Scientists hope this protected population can serve as an insurance policy against extinction while researchers work to address the broader climate challenges threatening the species’ wild habitat.