The skunk is dead....

[mimitabby]

I have seen more than one skunk in my day Mr Silver, and they are like most other creatures; if you don't bother them, they won't bother you. When my mother was young, she almost petted one, she thought it was a cat. It was early morning, dark and foggy. But the skunk had more sense than she did and walked away from her.

Why is a skunk wretched? they are a wonderful little animal who has developed a wonderful way of protecting itself. They live all over the country; they hurt no one. I read this story sadly; i realize that rabies IS a problem, but the bigger problem is the overinfestation of the planet with human beings.. If we don't like an animal, we blow it away.

[meridian]

Mimi, that is SUCH a cute picture. Skunks really are awesome critters. I would have seriously considered one as a pet if it were not illegal in my state. I settled for two lovely ferrets instead

On another note, if we went around killing everything that may pose a threat to us, our pets, or our precious (smelling) bikes, there wouldn't be much wildlife left for us to enjoy.

If we take a step back and look at things, humans are just as much of an infestation and threat as any ‘nuisance’ animal, but we have no free killing passes for them

Share Earth

[IFjane]

YES! Skunks are awesome little guys. We had one in our yard about a week ago - late afternoon - we suspect it was a nursing female and she was soooo hungry she couldn't wait until dark. She waddled up to the flower bed - she was headed for the spilled birdseed under the feeders - but when she heard us in the house she scurried back through the yard and into the woods.

When I was very young my dad and I found a baby skunk down by the creek in our yard. It was the cutest thing I ever saw! It was quite ferocious and definitely thought it was much bigger than it really was. It kept pouncing on my shoes. Dad and I got some crabcake from the kitchen (shhhhh! don't tell Mom!) and fed it some morsels. No, we did not keep it. In fact, once we put the crabcake on the ground in front of it, we left and never saw it again.

No, I don't want to walk up on one at night and yes, all my dogs were sprayed at one time or another. They can be very unpleasant - but they deserve a place on this planet just like we do.

[lauraelmore1033]

I remember taking the kids camping on Whidby Island and being surprised to discover that the campground was chock full of skunks. Dozens of them came out after dark and quietly sniffed us and our stuff out. They were kinda like cats roaming around, but without the "singing" and fighting. We quickly realized it was perfectly safe to roam among them and we were able to make our night time trips to the bathroom without danger of being sprayed.

There was an episode of Mythbusters dealing with removal of skunk spray odor. I think they discovered that is very difficult to induce a skunk to spray. They ended up using skunk stink out of a bottle because they couldn't manage to get any of the skunks to spray even though they were subjected to some pretty heavy duty harassment.

I don't think it is surprising that your skunk didn't spray. Poor little guy.

R.I.P. Skunky

[SouthernBelle]

We have lots of skunks around here. I've sat on the deck and watched one eating grubs in my back yard. He wasn't but a few feet away.

Another time I walked out front to get the mail, later than usual. Turned around and there was a skunk. I could have scratched his little head. he was traveling along so I just stood and watched him go by.

They've never bothered my cats, who also seem to enjoy watching them from the deck.

[SadieKate]

Since it won't be the last time, you may want to read up on the benefits of skunks and how to co-exist with them. Not only is it breeding season, but your yard may be full of attractive items.

http://www.laanimalservices.com/wildlife_skunks.htm

http://www.fundwildlife.org/coexist/skunks.html

[SadieKate]

Wait, wait, wait. We've all managed to diplomatically share our opinions about skunks without calling each other names. Can we keep it that way? Please?

[Running Mommy]

We all have our own opinions here, but calling someone stupid is uncalled for!

I don't agree with some of the things I read in the posts here, but I would never go so low as to call names. And then to suggest that you hope someone or something KILLS that person???!!!

NO. Back up!! C'mon ladies. This is a diverse forum, with diverse views and beliefs. The fact that until now we have all coexisted in a rather peaceful way is what makes me love TE. Lets not go down the path that so many other forums have...

[Meg McKilty]

Meg, did you forget your coffee this morning?

V.

BTW, I was drinking hospital coffee at about 0400 this morning, so it might have something to do with it. That is some nasty coffee, folks.

[SadieKate]

Meg, there are times when animals must be eradicated from an environment. FlyBye’s post gave very little information about the skunk’s behavior but to her it could obviously have been sick. A skunk (or dog or cat) with rabies cannot be tolerated. None of us could see what FlyBye saw. I personally wonder that she’s had 11 serious encounters with skunks, making me think that something in her yard is an attraction for them, but I’m certainly not going to judge her for this one incidence. There is absolutely no evidence that what she did was wrong because there is not enough information.

There is respect in putting an animal out of its misery.

[Flybye]

Meg, there are times when animals must be eradicated from an environment. FlyBye’s post gave very little information about the skunk’s behavior but to her it could obviously have been sick. A skunk (or dog or cat) with rabies cannot be tolerated. None of us could see what FlyBye saw. I personally wonder that she’s had 11 serious encounters with skunks, making me think that something in her yard is an attraction for them, but I’m certainly not going to judge her for this one incidence. There is absolutely no evidence that what she did was wrong because there is not enough information.

There is respect in putting an animal out of its misery.

Just so you don't think I live amidst junk cars and in a stink-hole, the 10 encounters happened when I was in high school and we moved into a home that had been abandoned for about 8 years. The skunks, who are creatures of habit, used the area as their home - garage, outbuildings, bushes, etc. The one we shot the other day was the first I have ever had in my yard as an adult.

Snapdragen - Thanks for deleting the offending posts. They belong on another cycling site which I shall not mention.

[SadieKate]

Oh my gosh, that must have been a job to clean up.

[Flybye]

Yes, it was. The previous owners were not very clean. We stripped carpet and repainted the entire house.
I thought my parents had lost their mind when we moved out there. It was a 3000 sq ft home on almost 1 acre and they picked it up for $45,000.
They sold it last spring for $210,000.
Pretty fair profit.
They knew what they were doing the whole time.

[Zen]

Unless someone is in imminent danger and there is no other avenue, I cannot in good conscience kill a living thing no matter the degree of perceived grotesqueness or mere inconvenience to me of said thing.

[nancielle]

Did you know that the smell can linger in your car for up to 6 months after a near proximity spraying?

Gag. Sadly, yes. Several years ago while driving home from class I encountered Skunkzilla waddling in the road. I didn't have time to stop but I was able to position the car so that I drove over it (not squashing type drive over), looked in the rearview mirror and saw it continuing to waddle on its merry way. Pat myself on the back for dodging that bullett...until the next morning when I was leaving for work. Turned the key and as the car got warmer eau de skunk got stronger. And there's nothing you can do about it. Needless to say, nobody wanted to carpool with me.