And you thought your garbage smelled....

Yesterday we received a call from an Aptos resident. He had a skunk trapped in his trash can! Yikes!... Volunteer, Deanna, to the rescue!


Thankfully, the big plastic trash can was on the shaded side of the house, otherwise the poor skunk would have surely overheated - it had been stuck in the can since at least 8 hours. 


Deanna arrived soon after we received the call. With a large towel in reach, she gently tipped the can, propped open the lid and stepped back - waiting quietly for the animal to appear............Nothing. 


Deanna thought to roll the can across the quiet drive to the edge of the forest, away from the home. She again tipped the can gently, this time spilling its contents. There, underneath a pile of kitchen waste was the glistening black and white coat of a striped skunk. It was breathing, but didn't move. Using a wooden stick, Deanna uncovered it to find that its head was stuck in a Yoplait yogurt container! 


It is NOT UNCOMMON to find a wild animal with its head stuck in vessel like this - especially a container with a tapered opening.




Deanna immediately grabbed a pair of heavy leather gloves and a big blanket. She draped the blanket over the skunk's entire body, leaving only its head exposed. In one quick move she held it down, yanked off the plastic cup and swiftly stepped back. Phew!

There was a moment of direct eye contact, a breath of relief from both sides, and then the lovely animal scampered into the woods of its sea cliff home. Deanna was left the job of picking up the waste. Not so bad when it meant she'd saved the life of a wonderful, and very beneficial wild creature.


Skunks eat mice, rats, moles, slugs, grubs and other garden 'pests', in addition to their affinity for low-fat strawberry banana yogurt.


Skunk photo from HERE.