Skink vs Ant and Other Adventures at Brookgreen Gardens

Five Lined Skink competeing for food with an ant, by Chelsea Lowman

While I was visiting South Carolina one summer, I stopped at Brookgreen Gardens, a beautiful sculpture garden and wildlife preserve. The place was crawling with all sorts of wildlife. There were lizards, frogs, butterflies of many colors, bizarre looking insects, and even an alligator. No matter where you looked there was something interesting to see, and when I was making my way out of the preserve, I came across a very fascinating conflict.

A five-lined skink and an ant both came across a scrap of a dead insect, and they both wanted it. I quickly put my macro lens on my camera and got down to their level to document their disagreement. The skink was sniffing its potential meal when the bold ant came up to it. They both looked at each other for a moment before the ant scampered forward and grabbed the insect. With an almost incredulous look on its face, the skink launched forward to snatch its meal back. However, the ant clearly didn't know her own size because she was not about to give it up.

The skink and the ant were both a little unsure of each other, but it was clear that they both equally wanted this meal. They took turns cautiously taking it away from each other. When one would grab it, the other one would go after it, causing the one who held the insect to drop it in alarm. It appeared as if they didn't know what to make of each other, and they took turns exchanging the insect for quite a few minutes. The pair was so caught up in the heat of the moment that they didn't even seem to notice that I was there.

It was so interesting to see such a small creature go up against a much larger opponent. The ant was a brave little thing, considering the fact that the lizard could have easily killed it if it really wanted to. It put up quite a fight against the determined skink. However, after a few minutes, the skink prevailed, finally using its size to its advantage. In one swift motion, it grabbed the dead insect in its mouth, swallowed it, and then took off into the cover of the bushes. The ant had tried, but would have to find food else ware.

The ant was trying to pull a fast one and make off with the meal. Photo by, Chelsea Lowman

In the pictures above and below you can see how they took turns exchanging the insect

Below are some pictures of the amazing scenery of Brookgreen Gardens, along with some of its other wild inhabitants. It is the perfect place to visit if you want to see reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife.

Here you can see a Carolina anole hanging out on a car. Some people refer to these lizards as "American chameleons" because of their ability to change colors. Despite their nickname, anoles at not related to chameleons at all.

Anoles are known for their territorial behavior. In fact, they can be so aggressive toward other lizards that they have been known to attack their own reflections! Luckily for the anole in the picture above, his reflection wasn't enough to trick him on this day.

Below you can see a bumble bee visiting one of the many flowers that surrounds Brookgreen Gardens.

Below are pictures of a young American Alligator. This one was living in one of the fountains at Brookgreen Gardens.

An interesting fact about alligators is that they can regrow their teeth as they're needed. They have been known to go through over 2,000 new teeth throughout the course of their life. Under normal circumstances, alligators have between 80-100 teeth in their mouth at one time.

Eastern Lubber Grasshopper , by Chelsea Lowman

Here you can see an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty startling to see an insect this large. However, they are nothing to be afraid of. These slow-moving insects are so lazy and clumsy that they got their name because of it. You see, "Lubber" is a term used to describe someone who is slow and unintelligent.