John Fortier, age 8, of Phoenix, Arizona, for his question:

What are skinks?

First, let's make sure of one thing. A skink is not related to a skunk. Not at all. A skunk is a handsome furry fellow who gives off a horrible smell to defend himself. A skink is a pretty little lizard with a rather shiny scaly skin. He is shiny because his scales lie very flat and this is how you can tell a skink from most other little lizards. There is no shortage of skinks in North America, for we have at least 20 different kinds.

Some of our little lizards climb trees and scuttle over walls and fences. But the skinks like to stay on the ground. Some have burrows, where they spend the night and hibernate through the winter. As a rule, a skink's body is about five inches long with an extra six inches of tail. Chances are, his shiny skin is some shade of brown or brownish green    and often there are a few long stripes from his nose to the tip of his tail.