Skunked!

On a bike ride this afternoon in Forest Ranch Liam and I encountered an animal not normally seen out and about during midday. The fact that we smelled it before we saw it is a dead giveaway to it’s identity, but in fact something didn’t ‘smell right’ about the whole thing! There, running straight down the road in front of us, feathered tail held high was a handsome striped skunk Mephitis mephitis.

I immediately cautioned Liam to slow down, having encountered dazed and disoriented skunks before. Rabies is always a possibility when usually reclusive animals are found in the open. Following at a respectable distance we watched the skunk scurry along ahead of us until it found a roadside culvert to hide in. Our assessment: We think this skunk was not rabid but had been disturbed from it’s daytime hiding place, the lingering odor a remnant of that encounter, it’s desire to run from us and seek shelter a normal skunky behavior.

Formerly classified as members of the weasel family, the five species of skunks found in North America are now a family unto themselves. The most common and widespread of these is the striped skunk which is found in all lower 48 states. The western spotted skunk was previously widespread in the west but is now considered uncommon. Commonly referred to as nocturnal, striped skunk is in fact a crepuscular feeder, doing most of it’s foraging at dawn and dusk. While rabies can be locally common in skunk populations in fact raccoons are more likely to spread the disease.

What scared our skunk? Anything from a coyote to a bobcat might have surprised or disturbed it, although the intruder likely got the worst of it - most predators avoid the skunks effective defense, with the exception of owls and raptors who are apparently oblivious to it.