Skunk Videos, Day 3:
Skunks in the window well?
Yesterday’s long video showed Ray Kremer’s success in getting the skunks out of his window well but the comment on his video says they went right back in there the next day.
Here’s a guy who can “whisper” them out.
And he probably recommends a window well cover.
By the way, skunks can carry rabies without showing any symptoms. Do not handle skunks! This guy is a professional from SkedaddleWildlife in Ontario, Canada.
p.s. Don’t even dream of keeping a wild baby skunk as a pet. In most states it’s illegal. Where they are legal you must get a permit and must get the skunk from a breeder, not from the wild, to insure that the pet is not carrying rabies.
(video from SkedaddleWildlife on YouTube)
Kate, I agree that people should not be handling wild skunks, or any other wild animal if at all possible. I am curious though about your statement that skunks can carry rabies for five to six generations as I can find no reference that supports this. I have read that there are four major regions where skunks carry rabies and the virus varies in pathogenicity in these areas, and that different animals tend to carry different virus variants, but I can’t find much information on the transmission of the virus other than the usual saliva route. I did find a study that showed a bat with rabies did not transmit the virus to her fetus. Theoretically a skunk that is carrying rabies but not yet symptomatic can have young, and then start shedding the virus, which could then be transmitted to the young via grooming. I suppose this could continue, but it seems unlikely that this would continue for generations without killing the young before they reach reproductive age. Could you pass on source of that information? By the way, laws vary from state to state regarding the rehabilitation of raccoons also, for the same reason, where I live it is customary to euthanize raccoons rather than rehabilitate them.
Sue, thanks for questioning the “five or six generations” statement. I read it during research for this article but cannot find it again. Since your comment I have found many references that explain how a rabid skunk mother passes rabies to her kits. So 2 generations having rabies at the same time but not more than that. I have removed the statement.
Sue, upon further investigation: An animal can be infected with rabies but shown no symptoms for a long time because of the incubation period. Here’s what the Humane Society says: “The typical incubation period is three to eight weeks, but it can be as little as nine days or as long as several years in some rare cases.” From http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/adoption-pet-care/safety/rabies-facts-prevention.html
Great patience and gentleness! Cover that well now though!
Loved the skunk series! They’re beautiful creatures – from a distance. Thanks for the tip about skunks carrying rabies for generations without showing symptoms. Just one more reason to avoid getting close to them. I’ll stick with my vaccinated indoor cats. 🙂
In my years as a deputy wildlife conservation officer, now retired, I came across this same situation and others like it on several occasions. My solution was to put a board at an angle from the bottom of the well to the top and and walk away. The critter always found its way out in short order by walking up the inclined board.
Thanks Kate! That website has a great summary of information about rabies.
Wow, the local news in NC just reported a woman was bitten by a rabid skunk. I have no idea how it occurred….
The angled board sounds like a great idea, Michael, especially if there isn’t a skunk whisperer on hand!
Well color ME red!!! I’m so glad that someone addressed this… I heard from a vet back in about 2001 that skunks could carry the rabies virus and pass it down EIGHT generations while remaining asymptomatic, and unquestioningly believed and repeated that falsehood until I tried to look up validation for this “fact” – turns out she was mistaken too! I had said to her that I thought a de-scented skunk that was litter box trained and allowed free run of the house when one was away from home might be a great deterrent against burglars if one wasn’t allowed a dog or simply couldn’t give a dog the exercise it needed… I thought that an intruder would beat a VERY hasty retreat if he/she came upon an unexpected skunk in an enclosed area, but wild animals are really not suitable to keep as pets outside of rescue activities where one will (hopefully) receive some kind of training in the care, feeding, etc. if whatever kind of wild animal they intended to help.