The Skunk Family. I'm sure that most of us in North America know what a skunk is but for those of you who don't, I want you to think of Pepe LePew from Bugs Bunny or Flowers from Bambi. They're cute as a cartoon aren't they? Now think about a cunning little rodent that digs holes in your lawn looking for grubs or turns tail and expels the most putrid of smells into the air.
Do you want to cuddle that? I think the skunk was first in line when Mother Nature was giving out defense mechanisms. LOL!
Skunk smell. It's hard to describe to someone who has never smelt it. Let me put it this way, it's bad enough to deter a determined predator! I've mentioned it before in my Blog that we have a sadistic bugger that lives around our house and every summer, always on one of the hottest and muggiest nights, he decides to let go and perfume the air with his Eau De Moufette. Sometimes it's so strong that we have to close the windows and sweat in the heat of the house. Duncan has been sprayed twice by a skunk. It's a smell that is extremely hard to get out of something. People have tried tomato juice, peroxide with baking soda and they even have a shampoo called Skunk-Off. Do they really work? Yes and no.
Last night as I was coming home, the car in front of me slowed down. I looked over to the side of the road and I just caught the tail end of a skunk family entourage. There was a mother with at least three kits. Talk about cute! Then this morning, I drove by the same spot and wasn't there one of the kits playing by the side of the road. Of course I didn't have my camera :o( Now I'm not "really" fond of these smelly creatures but I didn't want to see him get hit by a car either so I stayed on the side of the road until he went back into the bushes. My automatic response was to get out of the car but then logic sunk in ;o)
From what I've read, skunks are quite intelligent animals. You can even buy one as a pet! Just check out this humorous cartoon :o) Years ago when DH and I had all of our exotic animals, I had looked at skunks. Pet skunks have been domesticated so they are not all black with the white stripes but actually come in many different colors. They still come with their own cologne though but it's surgically removed. Whew! If you are looking at getting a skunk for a pet, make sure it's legal where you live. Some cities require that you register your exotic animal but others will not allow them at all.
Knock on wood; our resident skunk has not been around yet. Hopefully it will stay that way ;o)
Do you want to cuddle that? I think the skunk was first in line when Mother Nature was giving out defense mechanisms. LOL!
Skunk smell. It's hard to describe to someone who has never smelt it. Let me put it this way, it's bad enough to deter a determined predator! I've mentioned it before in my Blog that we have a sadistic bugger that lives around our house and every summer, always on one of the hottest and muggiest nights, he decides to let go and perfume the air with his Eau De Moufette. Sometimes it's so strong that we have to close the windows and sweat in the heat of the house. Duncan has been sprayed twice by a skunk. It's a smell that is extremely hard to get out of something. People have tried tomato juice, peroxide with baking soda and they even have a shampoo called Skunk-Off. Do they really work? Yes and no.
Last night as I was coming home, the car in front of me slowed down. I looked over to the side of the road and I just caught the tail end of a skunk family entourage. There was a mother with at least three kits. Talk about cute! Then this morning, I drove by the same spot and wasn't there one of the kits playing by the side of the road. Of course I didn't have my camera :o( Now I'm not "really" fond of these smelly creatures but I didn't want to see him get hit by a car either so I stayed on the side of the road until he went back into the bushes. My automatic response was to get out of the car but then logic sunk in ;o)
From what I've read, skunks are quite intelligent animals. You can even buy one as a pet! Just check out this humorous cartoon :o) Years ago when DH and I had all of our exotic animals, I had looked at skunks. Pet skunks have been domesticated so they are not all black with the white stripes but actually come in many different colors. They still come with their own cologne though but it's surgically removed. Whew! If you are looking at getting a skunk for a pet, make sure it's legal where you live. Some cities require that you register your exotic animal but others will not allow them at all.
Knock on wood; our resident skunk has not been around yet. Hopefully it will stay that way ;o)
8 comments:
I thinkk you can keep your skunks there lol , I have enough smelly problems with fergus
Gee... do you know how rare they're becoming in this area? Steven's study this year focuses on them and he has yet to see one! Not even a roadkill.
No Cathy, I don't think I want to cuddle this thing. But like you, I might enjoy seeing them and not wanting them to get hurt. As far as turning a skunk into a pet, I don't think it's a good idea either.
Skunks are rare because they've moved into the city, lol...just kidding. I haven't seen (or should I say smelled)our Pepe for a few weeks, but I'm not complaining. I heard that the owl population is up...perhaps that's why skunks are down?
The biscornu is beautiful! The quilt is stunning! The skunk is cute but not a cuddler!
Thank you so much for your warm thoughts and sweet words on my blog. They mean so much to know I have a friend like you and I'm thoughts and prayers across the globe. It has made this challenge so much easier.
I hope things have been ironed out with LTD and that the stress has lessened.
Well, I can say that skunks are cute in pictures, but I don't care to cuddle one. :)
Skunks are very common in our area, and I'm almost used to the smell of them I'm sad to say. Groundhogs actually can give off a very similar, almost more pungent odour, when they're killed. We had a bigger problem with groundhogs and our dogs than we ever did with skunks. Thankfully I guess ? lol
A friend of ours has raised pet skunks for years. Some are "movie star" skunks that have appeared in Disney movies. But most are just her lovable, adorable pets. They are exceptionally bright, and ironically enough they play really well with dogs LOL
Good thing skunks are not attracted to you like they are with Nikki (parents heeler/border collie dog) and I. We got to meet our Pepe in person. I was lucky but Nikki wasn't so lucky. As you know that wonderful coarse heeler hair retains the skunk smell for days.
The best remedy we found was washing Nikki with strong black coffee cold and then lathering Dawn dishwashing soap and finally rinsing with cool water. The coffee is an acid that is supposed to neutralize the spray and then the Dawn soap neutralizes the coffee and picks up the oil from the spray. Nikki smelled so perky afterwards that Pepe moved off the farm. Well that is what I told her. hehehe ~~Toni~~
Post a Comment