No Surprise

Usually I have absolutely no idea what will be recorded on a camera-trap's SD card each time I check it, but sometimes I can tell exactly what will probably come up on some of the images.

This happens in the case of skunks.  Naturally, I have a very strong nose, which I consider to be a very good thing for working in parks and wildlife.  Skunks leave a trail of stink wherever they go and have gotten pretty darn good at tracking and trailing them.

I knew exactly what I was going to find on the camera's SD card this time, because as soon as I got close to the camera, I could smell the skunk spray from the previous night.

Here's a photo of the mini stinker.

Skunks in the Snow

The Centreville skunks have been out and about in the snow.  Like the raccoons around here, skunks are a lot more active in the night than in the day.

I was surprised that I didn't smell the noxious odor of a skunk when checking the camera on a large plot of land in Centreville, Virginia yesterday. I usually do smell it first.

We can clearly see here that there are two individuals walking in front of the camera.  One is a lot darker than the other, with most of its coat being black.  The other contains lots of white.

The coats of skunks vary greatly in color, but they all stink terribly.

Opossum Vs. Skunk

A skunk is not something most creatures would want to mess with.  It's an experience that could lead to scratches, bites, and of course, a smell like no other.

There's only one clear picture of the ordeal, but it shows the real attitude of these two animals.  This is one brave opossum, folks.

The skunk seemed to be the winner and continued eating for 34 minutes after this.

A Real Stinker

Let's all take a minute to appreciate the skunks of Northern Virginia.

One of my biggest surprises so far in my experiences of camera-trapping has actually been a lack of skunks.  This is only my third event of getting a skunk on camera in all of northern Virginia, ever.

I know there are many of them around because I see them walking in the daytime, see them dead on the road, smell them in the air frequently, and see them at least once a week in my backyard in the summer,

So why are skunks so camera shy?   Well,  I don't really know.  I never thought it would be this hard to get a skunk on camera in the woods at night.

A Skunk Picture

 





Just adding to my "camera-trapped species" list with this stinker.  I see these guys all the time around my neighborhood.  It was only a matter of time before one would walk by one of my cameras.