Trachylepis varia
Silhouette: David Orr · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The eastern variable skink (Trachylepis varia) is a species of skink found in East Africa. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 3 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Skink sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 36th most-seen of the 62 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March–June and August–September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Skink in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, July and October–December, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Skink sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Variable Skink sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 20%), Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique, about 20%) and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same genus: Trachylepis
The closest relatives of the Variable Skink that you can see in Kruger National Park (genus Trachylepis, Afro-Malagasy Mabuyas) are Rainbow Skink (about 40%), African Striped Skink (about 30%) and Damara Skink (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Variable Skink is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kruger National Park (22 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
