To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Skunks good or skunks bad?
Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 11:20:23 -0500
On May 9, 2004, at 8:08 AM, list@ginda.us wrote:
I live in suburbia. The answer might be different in a more rural or
urban setting.
Skunks are good because:...
Skunks are bad because:...
That, I believe, is a pretty fair assessment of skunks. Out here in the
rural area, we have to be careful of skunks wandering about in the day
time. They are mostly nocturnal and when they wobble around in the day,
it pretty much means they are sick, most likely with rabies. In such
cases the usually docile skunk can be quite aggressive, and my father
and I both have been chased by rabid skunks.
When I was a child, I had a skunk as a pet. It had had its musk gland
removed by a vet. It was a clean animal, and was quite tame, having
been around me since shortly after its birth, and its mother killed in
a tractor mowing incident.
Skunks are OK generally, a pest at times, and should be approached with
caution always. They are fun to watch.