What's Black and White and Smells Like the Dickens?

Skunks are said to be making a comeback on Long Island after a decline in the 1900s. In the Midwest where I grew up, they are fixtures...from marauders in the garbage to unsavory road kill. For a bit last week we thought we had a nest of them living under the cottage. It all started when we spotted a couple of skunks foraging in the undergrowth beyond our yard. Next thing we knew, five of them were tumbling and running in circles on the lawn and in my garden—all that, in broad daylight.

We all hear tales of rabid animals behaving oddly and this sure qualified. Most astonishing, the critters weren’t just black with a conspicuous white stripe down their backs. Some were almost white. Another had a star-shaped markings. A call to the Department of Natural Resources explained.

“Teenagers. . .,” the enforcement officer laughed. “Just havin’ fun.”

There hadn’t been a rabid skunk in the area for over 20 years. Apparently the markings were typical of young skunks, plus they weren’t experienced enough yet to know they should be carousing around at night. The DNR’s guess was that the mother had abandoned the kids who were out partying en route to finding a new home. According to a Cornell Extension website, skunks become independent at 3 months and usually wander off on their own in the fall. This crew just appeared to have gotten a head start.

Critters of choice in North Fork gardens may still be deer, squirrels, rabbits and possums. Still, as gardeners we learn something new every day about the four-footed creatures coexisting with us.