Otago's native lizards heading closer to extinction

Otago's endangered native lizards are heading closer to extinction, says the Department of Conservation.

The department has monitored the skinks in a 1500ha area at Macraes, inland from Palmerston, for the past six years and says the number of native grand skinks and Otago skinks is falling each year.

The skinks were once found all over Otago, but have disappeared from more than 90 per cent of their range. They are now isolated to Macraes and a patch near the Lindis Pass.