Thursday 30 March 2017

Skunk and raccoon patrol!

July 1st, 2016

We still have our skunk. Our resident skunk has been about in the night.

I spotted him early one morning last summer, out in the front yard. He pretty much ignored me!

Friday night, hubby scared it out of the garage. He opened the kitchen door to to check if the outer door was closed. It wasn't. Off went skunkie.

I think s/he lives across the highway. The beauty of having snow is you can track it! He's a regular visitor. Oft times, in summer, I catch a faint whiff of its powerful scent. They live about 3 years in the wild, so says National Geographic. We'll often see our so-called grass dug up, as they look for summer grubs. Go for it, I say to them!
Skunks are opportunistic eaters with a varied diet. They are nocturnal foragers who eat fruit and plants, insects, larvae, worms, eggs, reptiles, small mammals, and even fish.

The little devil rain around the house on Saturday night, March 25th. I tracked it coming across the back lawn/septic bed, scooting too fast for the good trailcam to capture its image. Little twerp.

I found the week tracks going in and out of the meltwater. We've had a bit of warm weather!
Hubby has a keen nose, and could smell Skunkie after the snow melted this month, and before this latest snowfall. They rather wander about!

Now, I think these were the skunk's tracks. They are similar to raccoon tracks.


These are raccoon tracks (left), but they are similar to skunks, who are smaller.

Raccoons have paws that leave about a 10cm track. Skunk paws are 2.5 - 4 cm long, the back feet are longest. You cannot really see the pads in their tracks, as they have long claws, which show up nicely.

I love trying to find out who has visited in the night! My problem is that we have a small raccoon, about the size of a skunk, who visits nightly. Daisy lets me know, as she tracks it across the front window.



He's a fast little thing! Sometimes I set the trailcam for photos, sometimes video. It doesn't work for skunkie, as he's a blur.
March 15, 2016



Butch Raccoon a couple of nights ago!
Butch Marches from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

6 comments:

Olga said...

It must be spring if the skunks are out and about. Maybe?

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I do not think I would want a skunk in my yard. They are pretty to see from a distance. Have a happy day!

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Out and about, as Olga says, indicates spring is close! YAM xx

Out To Pasture said...

Caught a faint mist of eau de skunk a couple of weeks ago. I look forward to seeing these busy little chaps each Spring. Arn't cats good snitches? At dawn one morning last week my cat, Ellie Mae, let me know there was something interesting outside a window. When I investigated, I was delighted to see an exquisite little fox.

William Kendall said...

You don't want to startle them!

Red said...

I know that skunks are basically harmless but I still don't like them around. the possibility of an accident is too high.