I helped a skunk today
Sept 14, 2023 23:28:56 GMT -5
Post by 40oz on Sept 14, 2023 23:28:56 GMT -5
My partner's apartment building has a den of skunks living in the back lot. If you hang out in the back at night they rummage around, sniffing around trees and digging little holes. You'd think it would be more smelly but despite nearly a dozen of them living there, it's pretty rare. Sometimes at night the two of us will go sit outside in the park and watch them. They're cute as fuck.
Skunks can spray up to 6 times, but need about two weeks to 'recharge.' They also have terrible eyesight so they can hardly see even over short distances. They like to eat fruits, vegetables and insects.
Today, on one of our skunk watches, one of the skunks we found had a milkshake lid stuck around his head. Poor guy wanted to eat some leftover mcdonalds ice cream, poked his head in through the lid and then couldn't get it off. We followed him into a neighbors back patio and he was trying to scratch it off using the patio furniture. There was no way he was gonna get this thing off on his own. I really wanted to help him but i was worried about getting sprayed. We could smell that he had sprayed earlier.
We followed him around some more, and I was able to get pretty close. But when I got too close he'd stomp his feet. Skunks will sometimes do a little charge motion to ward off predators. It's adorable. If he didn't get this milkshake lid off of him though, he could choke on it and probably die. My partner went to get some gardening gloves, a laundry basket, and a pair of shears while I stayed outside to keep an eye on him.
I distracted him while my partner dropped a laundry basket on him, but he quickly escaped through the handles of the basket and sprayed the inside of the basket. We followed him around some more into the neighbor's garden. I think we kinda broke his trust at this point trying to trap him in a basket, but we were determined to help this little bugger out. Get sprayed is a small price to pay if we can save his life!
He ended up sneaking around into a corner so we followed him with a blanket and tried to trap him once more. We had him for a sec, but he squeezed out and went for another corner, and tried to squeeze through the slats of a wooden fence. The milkshake lid got him caught under the fence, so I quickly ran to the opposite side of the fence while my partner came up to him from behind. They wrapped the blanket around him and held him steady. While his head was poked through the fence, I quickly snipped the plastic lid off his neck, and then we let him free.
I didn't have my phone with me, I wish I got pictures. We both managed to rescue this little guy without getting sprayed. We're still washing our clothes in baking soda though, because I think some residue landed on us when he sprayed the inside of the basket. Honestly, I was shocked we were able to follow him around for so long. Skunks have a bad reputation but they are cute as hell and usually only spray only if they're really scared. They have some aggressive body language when they stomp and shuffle their feet around but are generally very non-confrontational. I'm happy we were able to help him out.
We named him McFlurry.
Skunks can spray up to 6 times, but need about two weeks to 'recharge.' They also have terrible eyesight so they can hardly see even over short distances. They like to eat fruits, vegetables and insects.
Today, on one of our skunk watches, one of the skunks we found had a milkshake lid stuck around his head. Poor guy wanted to eat some leftover mcdonalds ice cream, poked his head in through the lid and then couldn't get it off. We followed him into a neighbors back patio and he was trying to scratch it off using the patio furniture. There was no way he was gonna get this thing off on his own. I really wanted to help him but i was worried about getting sprayed. We could smell that he had sprayed earlier.
We followed him around some more, and I was able to get pretty close. But when I got too close he'd stomp his feet. Skunks will sometimes do a little charge motion to ward off predators. It's adorable. If he didn't get this milkshake lid off of him though, he could choke on it and probably die. My partner went to get some gardening gloves, a laundry basket, and a pair of shears while I stayed outside to keep an eye on him.
I distracted him while my partner dropped a laundry basket on him, but he quickly escaped through the handles of the basket and sprayed the inside of the basket. We followed him around some more into the neighbor's garden. I think we kinda broke his trust at this point trying to trap him in a basket, but we were determined to help this little bugger out. Get sprayed is a small price to pay if we can save his life!
He ended up sneaking around into a corner so we followed him with a blanket and tried to trap him once more. We had him for a sec, but he squeezed out and went for another corner, and tried to squeeze through the slats of a wooden fence. The milkshake lid got him caught under the fence, so I quickly ran to the opposite side of the fence while my partner came up to him from behind. They wrapped the blanket around him and held him steady. While his head was poked through the fence, I quickly snipped the plastic lid off his neck, and then we let him free.
I didn't have my phone with me, I wish I got pictures. We both managed to rescue this little guy without getting sprayed. We're still washing our clothes in baking soda though, because I think some residue landed on us when he sprayed the inside of the basket. Honestly, I was shocked we were able to follow him around for so long. Skunks have a bad reputation but they are cute as hell and usually only spray only if they're really scared. They have some aggressive body language when they stomp and shuffle their feet around but are generally very non-confrontational. I'm happy we were able to help him out.
We named him McFlurry.
