It is not just a skink. It is the giant of the Otago schist. Oligosoma grande is defined by size and presence. At up to thirty centimetres in length, it is one of largest lizards in New Zealand. A robust, powerful animal with broad head, strong jaws, and thick tail that stores fat for lean winter months. Colouration is variable. Greenish-brown to greyish-brown with darker markings along back and sides. Pale cream or yellowish belly. This is a lizard that knows how to use landscape. A rock specialist, living in deep crevices of schist tors dotting Otago high country. Basks on sun-warmed rocks in morning, soaking up heat that fuels day of hunting. When predator approaches - stoat, cat, harrier - it vanishes into crevices. Disappearing into dark spaces between stones. Found only in Central Otago, in tussock grasslands and rocky outcrops of Cromwell Gorge. Biologically, Grand Skink is viviparous, giving birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Females produce two to five offspring every other year. A slow reproductive rate that makes species vulnerable to population decline. Young are miniature versions of adults. Independent from birth, but grow slowly. Taking several years to reach maturity. Decline has been swift and devastating. Introduced predators - cats, stoats, ferrets, and hedgehogs - have decimated populations across Central Otago. Habitat loss from farming, fire, and spread of invasive weeds has compounded problem. Today fewer than two thousand individuals remain. Confined to handful of sites where intensive predator control keeps cats and stoats at bay. To see a Grand Skink is to see a survivor. A lizard that has clung to existence in face of overwhelming odds. A living fossil of Otago high country. Future depends on continuation of predator control. On restoration of tussock grassland habitat. On captive breeding programmes slowly rebuilding population. It is a chief among lizards.