I just found a baby skunk

[Gelliebeans]

in my backyard he his playing on the other side of the sliding glass door to my two cats delight.
does anyone know what skunks eat?

[Redneck Socialist]

1. Cats

:evilgrin:

[mark414]

2. from www.wihumane.org

3). Leave healthy wild babies alone. Although wild animal babies may seem abandoned, they are seldom truly orphaned and their parents are usually nearby. If a featherless or downy bird is found on the ground, an adult can attempt to place it back in its nest. Generally, young feathered birds are just learning to fly and, if found on the ground, can be placed in a nearby tree or bush. Call us for advice before moving animals thought to be orphaned at [phone].

[MuseRider]

3. I know they eat

grubs. I often see them digging around the farm. I never have really studied them but that is one thing I do know. Cute, aren't they?

[Gelliebeans]

5. he is cute and he is digging

in the planter and we are just watching him--not planning on feeding or rescuing him--just watching him from a SAFE distance

[Renew Deal]

4. Does anyone know if skunks can be eaten is the real question.

Go to the gungeon and ask the gun nuts.

[vegan ranger]

6. little skunks

As a park ranger, I would definitely say please do not feed the little guy. This will only create problems for both of you. They do root up mostly grubs and small insects in the dirt, making little piles as they move along. He sounds like he's doing just fine.

[MercutioATC]

7. Yeah, feed him and let him start a family under your porch...

...I'm sure he'll be considerate with the stench when he remembers your kindness.


Skunks are wild animals. As such, they have methods of protecting themselves from predators. Don't get so caught up in the cuteness that you forget that.

[short bus president]

8. please be careful,

for the little stinker's sake. Wild skunks are not pets, and should not be fed or otherwise enticed to stay around people. It'll be off on it's skunk way shortly. Please just take a picture or a video, and enjoy the skunk's brief visit.

If you MUST have a pet skunk, you can research them on the web and find someone who's working on "domesticating" them. They can be descented, and you'll sometimes hear stories about skunks who become really sweet and docile, but they are DEFINITELY NOT a domesticated species in the sense that say, guinea pigs or rabbits are. Much less "domesticated" in the sense that dogs and cats are.

[soothsayer]

9. Lots of rabid skunks here in VA. My GF has a farm with 30 cats or more

and a rabid skunk killed some of her kittens right before her eyes. A few months later another rabid skunk showed up. She now shoots all skunks on sight.

[TaleWgnDg]

10. my first thoughts when you mention a "backyard" skunk is . . .

. . . R - A - B - I - E - S. And my second thought was R - A - B - I - E - S. After that I thought that perhaps it's best to keep that glass door shut between your cats and that skunk.

Just my 2 cents.

=================================
"I believe that it points up the
fact that we need common sense
judges who understand that our
rights were derived from God.
Those are the kind of judges I
intend to put on the bench."
— GWBush, June 27, 2002
=================================

[Kali]

11. They eat just about anything

including PET food and chicken eggs. They will occasionally take grown chickens too. Be carefull the stench isn't near as bad as RABIES! In some areas they are the major carriers. They can be very aggressive and arrogant. I have had them come and actually open a wooden screen door to get at dog food. My dogs have ongoing war with them every few nights and we pay with several hours of stench through the house (open windows - no airconditioning) We had a couple of young ones decide to move INTO the chicken coop. One day Husband found one curled up in a NEST BOX. Yikes.