Conversations with myself: Skunks? Yes we had skunks. We hosted a family den located amongst an evergreen foundation planting, right up against the basement wall - cosy, and made somewhat warmer than would otherwise be the case by the heated basement itself. They must have approved of the housing as they maintained generations of their family in that den. This den was a heritage asset for this particular skunk family who year after year produced new residents for us to get to know. Left to themselves in the side yard - sheltered by the evergreens, they feasted on grubs from the garden, but they also took advantage of food left outside for the neighbourhood stray cats, most notably in the spring. Year after year, Mama and her new litter, would present themselves at our front door. She would bring all her little skunklets to the door, not only to sample the Goodies in the cat’s bowl, but it also served as a formal introduction to our family. Tiny miniature skunklets, their tails held high with a small tipped point going horizontal at the end, looking like so many dodge’ em cars. We had the late spring pleasures of seeing Mama Skunk instruct her offspring in the skills needed to raid the cat Smörgåsbord. We were never in any real danger of being sprayed with their defensive odor weapon. We talked softly and moved smoothly. Year after year.that was the norm. But then - things changed. Early one evening there were new skunks at the front door, skunks we had never seen before and the resident skunks, lead by Mamma, were making it very clear that these newcomers were not welcome. Making her point, there was a slight but distinct odor accompanied by low growls. Over the next few nights, as the newcomers continued to show up, it was very obvious that tensions were rising. We lived on quiet little street. Across from our house was a neighbor whose back yard bumped into the eight lane highway - 401. Several blocks to the north, a major construction was taking place - an extension to a subway. Skunks are nocturnal and did not like the excavating blasts that kept them from sleeping. What to do? Move on - relocate. Pushing to the south, the route was block by the highway. Our house became the last stop. Our neighbors voiced concerns about the skunk population but at least one of them offered the use of a small animal trap - no harm to the skunk they just walked in and the door closes behind them. A bit of food at the far end was the lure. Having successfully trapped and relocated the new arrivals, we thought the problem had been solved. But: They just kept coming, every night a new batch of skunk pilgrims. Over the course of the summer, we trapped and relocated 56 skunks of various ages amd delivered them to a nearby conservation area. While we only had1 formal trap, but several laundry baskets, placed upside down and propped up with a small sticks at one end served as as substitutes. Once in the basket, a blanket was dropped over it and a large section of a cardboard box was slid under it to serve as the floor. Carried to the van, it was off to the new home, accompanied by one of our siamese cats who loved riding in the van. We were never sprayed and the skunks took no notice of the cat. Our resident skunk family must have realized what was going on as they never once got caught in the traps - they just watched from the sidelines - cheering us on.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 21:37:38 +0000
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