If you spend enough time hiking the trails around Table Rock, eventually something small and incredibly fast is going to catch your eye.

Sometimes it is nothing more than a flash across a log. Other times, you get lucky.

While hiking the Pinnacle Mountain Trail at Table Rock State Park, roughly halfway to three-quarters of the way up the mountain, we spotted this little guy clinging to the side of a large tree. At first, he blended remarkably well with the rough bark. Then the sunlight hit his tail.

Bright blue is difficult to hide in a South Carolina forest.

The little lizard appears to be a common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), one of the native skinks found throughout South Carolina and a particularly good fit for the wooded mountain habitat around Table Rock.

That Bright Blue Tail

The first thing most people notice about a young five-lined skink is its tail.

Juveniles have a dark body marked by five light-colored stripes running from the head toward the tail. Behind those stripes is an almost unbelievably bright blue tail. Depending on the sunlight, it can appear turquoise, electric blue, or even slightly iridescent.

It looks like something you would expect to find in a tropical rainforest rather than several miles up a mountain trail in Pickens County.

But the color has a purpose.

When a predator attacks, a skink can detach part of its tail. The discarded tail continues moving for a short time, potentially distracting the predator while the skink makes its escape.

The skink can eventually grow another tail, although the replacement usually does not look quite like the original.

Why Was It So Far Up Pinnacle Mountain?

Finding one this far up Pinnacle Mountain might seem surprising, but the location actually makes sense.

Common five-lined skinks are woodland animals. They use trees, fallen logs, stumps, rocks, and crevices for shelter and hunting. Table Rock’s mountain forests provide plenty of all of those.

Our skink had picked an especially good location.

It was sitting on the bark immediately above a large hollow in the tree. Whether the hollow was its regular shelter is impossible to know, but it certainly provided a convenient escape route. One quick movement and the skink could disappear from sight.

The trunk was also receiving direct sunlight.

Skinks are reptiles and depend on outside heat to regulate their body temperature. A sunlit tree trunk surrounded by cooler mountain forest can make an excellent place to warm up.

That may be exactly what this one was doing when we found it.

Common Five-Lined or Southeastern Five-Lined?

South Carolina makes identifying these little lizards slightly complicated.

The state is home to both the common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) and the extremely similar southeastern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus).

Young individuals of the two species can look remarkably alike. Both can have dark bodies, five stripes, and brilliant blue tails. Definitively separating them sometimes requires examining scale patterns that are difficult or impossible to see in an ordinary wildlife photograph.

However, habitat provides a useful clue.

The common five-lined skink is strongly associated with wooded environments and is widespread through the Appalachian region. Southeastern five-lined skinks tend to be more associated with warmer and drier habitats.

Considering that this individual was found well up Pinnacle Mountain in the forest of Table Rock State Park, the common five-lined skink is the more likely identification.

We would still leave a little room for uncertainty without examining the animal closely, which we certainly were not going to disturb just to count scales.

They Change as They Grow

The beautiful blue-tailed appearance does not necessarily last forever.

As five-lined skinks mature, their colors change. The stripes may become less obvious, and the brilliant blue tail generally fades. Adult males can look particularly different from juveniles and may develop a wider head and reddish or orange coloration around the jaws, especially during breeding season.

That means hikers sometimes see young and adult five-lined skinks without realizing they are looking at the same species.

The individual we photographed still had extremely distinct stripes and a brilliant blue tail, suggesting that it was a juvenile or relatively young skink.

What Do Five-Lined Skinks Eat?

These little reptiles are hunters.

Five-lined skinks feed primarily on insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. Beetles, crickets, larvae, and similar creatures can all become meals.

That makes them a beneficial part of the forest ecosystem.

Of course, being a small lizard in the mountains also means spending plenty of time avoiding becoming somebody else’s meal. Snakes, birds, and small mammals can prey on skinks.

Speed, camouflage, hiding places, and that detachable blue tail all help improve their odds.

Are Five-Lined Skinks Dangerous?

Not at all.

Five-lined skinks are harmless to people and generally want nothing to do with us. Their preferred response to a person approaching is usually to run for the nearest crack, log, rock, or tree cavity.

If you see one along the trail, the best thing to do is exactly what we did: stop, take a few photographs, and let it continue on its way.

Trying to catch one can cause unnecessary stress and may cause the skink to drop its tail.

Besides, watching one in its natural environment is much more interesting.

Look Closely on Your Next Table Rock Hike

One of the best things about hiking Table Rock and Pinnacle Mountain is that the biggest attractions aren’t always the most memorable.

Everyone notices the mountains.

Everyone notices the overlooks.

But sometimes one of the most interesting things you encounter is only a few inches long.

This five-lined skink was sitting quietly on a tree along Pinnacle Mountain Trail, perfectly matched to the bark except for a brilliant streak of blue running down its tail.

Hundreds of hikers could have walked right past without ever seeing it.

So the next time you are climbing Pinnacle Mountain, occasionally take your eyes off the summit and look at the trees, rocks, and fallen logs around you.

You might catch a flash of electric blue disappearing into the forest.

And if you do, you have probably just met one of Table Rock’s smallest and most colorful residents.