We’ve Got Skunks

9 responses to “We’ve Got Skunks”

1. 

   AGrinberg

   Jun 29, 2013 at 3:58 pm

   We had skunks living under our deck a few years back.
   I put a sign over their entrance hole, "Mephitis mephitis".
   My kids finally learned some latin.

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2. 

   Susana Pieri Perriere – Nfer

   Jun 29, 2013 at 7:19 pm

   I love skunks! Beauty photo!

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3. 

   Rain Sun

   Jun 29, 2013 at 7:34 pm

   tails like fireworks, with odor!!! great shot

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4. 

   Ramones Karaoke

   Jun 30, 2013 at 9:05 am

   Very cute, but of course if they discharge, even once, you will simply have to burn down the house and claim insurance.

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5. 

   sbove

   Jun 30, 2013 at 1:33 pm

   Having recently been "misted" at close range by a skunk I startled on a dark path here in Marin (my 95 lb labrador was behind me which is probably what convinced it to go full nuclear in a flash), all I can say is, wow, what a potent deterrent! When they shoot, it sounds like a cat giving a quick "hiss", and the range & velocity is amazing. We were below it on a steep uphill grade & I was lucky to have seen the white of its tail flash & duck behind a bush which absorbed most of the blast. Otherwise I’d still be bathing in peroxide, baking soda and tide 😉

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6. 

   TomiTapio

   Jun 30, 2013 at 9:24 pm

   Skunky-wunkies!

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7. 

   jurvetson

   Jul 1, 2013 at 2:52 am

   [http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenbove] — whoa… 10 ft. aim, which can be temporarily blinding.

   Some more cool details:

   The Great Horned Owl has no sense of smell, and so they are the major predator of skunks. They swallow their food whole, so when they catch a skunk, which can be 5x the bird’s body weight, they just pop the head off for a yummy snack.
   

   And from Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle

   Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the Beagle.

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8. 

   Cynthia E. Wood

   Jul 1, 2013 at 4:51 am

   They’re awful cute.

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9. 

   jurvetson

   Jul 18, 2013 at 5:28 pm

   The skunks come back each night. I just posted a short video

   Reply