I Had a Skunk Encounter
Disappointing Lake Trip... I went to the lake again last night hoping to finally get to take advantage of skunk mating season and the rumored enhanced spray scent from hormones I've heard about. While I DID find a couple of skunks, I found them in an area with a lot of good hiding spots (drainage pipes, the marina and rocky shore respectively) and they kept diving for cover and waiting me out. I waited as well, knowing they'd eventually come out, but then I was just too nice to them and kept my distance before following thinking it would give me an advantage to survey for escape routes first. This proved to be a mistake because one skunk dove into the boat storage (which is fenced and locked off with cameras and would be illegal for me to enter) and another wandered around the rocky shore of the lake and finally hid under a big heavy rock where I couldn't get to it.
The skunk under the rock was adorable (thin white head stripe and all black down his back and tail), and I enjoyed talking to it in a low friendly voice and trying to coax him out, but alas, the most I could do is remove rocks between us and free up some space. The only way the skunk could squeeze out would be to crawl towards me and it obviously didn't want that. I couldn't coax a spray given how squeezed in it was and skunks hate firing in enclosed spaces (he/she did however try a few times to bite, so I knew grabbing at a desperate skunk would be a terrible idea). I also tried pushing more rocks in to remove all space and see if he'd dash out, but he didn't seem to mind getting closed in there and so that failed as well. Eventually, at about 1:50 a.m. the storm started coming in and a combination of low temperatures and heavy rain did NOT make waiting for the skunk to exit the rock sound at all fun, so I left in defeat.
The experience really reminded me just how tenacious and intelligent skunks can be, they knew to take full advantage of their size difference to escape me. I just wish I'd been sprayed though, I hate going through all the trouble of suiting up and driving down there and coming back without a single squirt. I'm sad to report I did find a dead skunk in a feral cat enclosure and I suspect he may have been poisoned, given all the mechanical trap paraphernalia I seemed to find in the area. He might've also just gotten sick from eating the cat food people leave out there (it's very bad for skunks and ruins their kidneys), I don't know, his stripes were yellow which means they're sick. I didn't have latex gloves or a shovel or I would've given him a proper burial.
It's going to snow heavily over the next few days and this was my last chance to get a chase in before the weather ruined it. I can only blame myself for softening up so much. I think if I'd charged at the one by the shore I might've been able to get to him before he got to the rocks. Of course, there's some hidey-holes in a grassy patch by the shore too which is part of why I didn't. I guess I'll never know. At least my skunked clothing is still really nicely pungent.
The skunk under the rock was adorable (thin white head stripe and all black down his back and tail), and I enjoyed talking to it in a low friendly voice and trying to coax him out, but alas, the most I could do is remove rocks between us and free up some space. The only way the skunk could squeeze out would be to crawl towards me and it obviously didn't want that. I couldn't coax a spray given how squeezed in it was and skunks hate firing in enclosed spaces (he/she did however try a few times to bite, so I knew grabbing at a desperate skunk would be a terrible idea). I also tried pushing more rocks in to remove all space and see if he'd dash out, but he didn't seem to mind getting closed in there and so that failed as well. Eventually, at about 1:50 a.m. the storm started coming in and a combination of low temperatures and heavy rain did NOT make waiting for the skunk to exit the rock sound at all fun, so I left in defeat.
The experience really reminded me just how tenacious and intelligent skunks can be, they knew to take full advantage of their size difference to escape me. I just wish I'd been sprayed though, I hate going through all the trouble of suiting up and driving down there and coming back without a single squirt. I'm sad to report I did find a dead skunk in a feral cat enclosure and I suspect he may have been poisoned, given all the mechanical trap paraphernalia I seemed to find in the area. He might've also just gotten sick from eating the cat food people leave out there (it's very bad for skunks and ruins their kidneys), I don't know, his stripes were yellow which means they're sick. I didn't have latex gloves or a shovel or I would've given him a proper burial.
It's going to snow heavily over the next few days and this was my last chance to get a chase in before the weather ruined it. I can only blame myself for softening up so much. I think if I'd charged at the one by the shore I might've been able to get to him before he got to the rocks. Of course, there's some hidey-holes in a grassy patch by the shore too which is part of why I didn't. I guess I'll never know. At least my skunked clothing is still really nicely pungent.
