A strange slimy creature had Lowveld National Botanical garden’s supervisor, Eric Mnyokane worried on March 7.

The creature, which at first looked like a snake, was seen slithering in the garden and was later confirmed to be a giant legless skink.

Skinks are small to medium-sized reptiles that belong to the lizard family of Scincidae.

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It is characterized by its long body, short legs or even none, and has the ability to drop its tail to escape predators.

Found worldwide in diverse habitats, they are non-venomous and generally insectivorous.

The Lowveld National Botanical Garden shared the sighting on Facebook.

“This was a rare sighting for us. One of our garden supervisors came across it while he was doing his morning rounds.”

According to the African Snake Bite Institute there are around 30 species in southern Africa, of which the most common are the Cape Legless Skink (Acontias meleagris), the Giant Legless Skink (Acontias plumbeus) and the Thin-tailed Legless Skink (Acontias gracilicauda).

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Skinks spend most of their lives underground, using the enlarged and hardened rostral (nose) scale to push earth and leaf litter.

Often after heavy rains, legless skinks will come to the surface, moving slowly and awkwardly. They are very vulnerable at this point and often predated on.

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The institute shared that skinks have no venom, but that they can deliver a painful pinching bite if handled.

They will occasionally also twist their bodies whilst biting, causing pain and often breaking the skin. If you are not sure if it is a legless skink or not, do not attempt to pick the animal up.