Message from the Cap’n – Oh, That Skunk
Photo by Clyde Nishimura/Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Creative Commons licensed.
Message from the Cap’n is a compilation of fishing advice, waterman and weather insights, Chesapeake lore, and ordinary malarkey from the folks who keep their feet wet in the Potomac and St. Mary’s rivers.
We’ve all been skunked.
The Cap’n
We have heard the term many times fishing and hunting: We finally got the skunk out of the boat! Or, we got the skunk out of the duck blind. What a relief to start to be productive instead of being skunked!
The skunk that brings this to mind, is the dead one lying on the road. And though some might need reminding, just in case there are others: Don’t hit the dead one with your car or truck because you might get your undercarriage sprayed again.
I happily do not speak from personal experience. But I’ve seen my share on the road. There are more around than we see. They’re nocturnal and very seldom seen in the daytime.
Skunks are medium sized animals. Rarely over about 30 inches in length. And can live in urban and rural areas. They generally live in dens that they dig with their strong front claws. And they are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and plants.
A group of skunks is called a surfeit. Surfeit is defined by Oxford Language dictionary as “an excessive amount of something.” Exactly what a group of skunks would be.
Their bright, bold coloring is a warning to stay away. A skunk can accurately spray up to about 20 feet. Their vile spray is not urine but the secretion of an anal gland. Skunks generally never spray one another except during the mating season. The only thing that eats a skunk regularly is the Great Horned Owl. The Great Horned Owl evidently has a very poor sense of smell.
Keep your distance! They do not make good pets!
Till next time,
Capn Jack
Remember “It’s Our Bay, Let’s Pass It On.”
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