MAN vs WILD : A SMELLY ENCOUNTER

When we arrived at our cabin my wife turned to me and said "skunk". I sniffed my armpits thinking that wasn't very nice...

But she was right, there was a faint odor of skunk in the air. We'd smelled it on our previous trip. It was a lot like that whiff you catch when driving down the freeway. There was one living nearby we figured. Oh well, such is life in the "domesticated wild" in which our cabin resides.

The next morning was weeding time. With much moaning about how I always seem to be pulling weeds...grumble grumble grumble...

I froze when something caught my eye.

Next to the air conditioner was our skunk. He appeared curled up and, dare I say, asleep?

If there is a world record for reverse long jumping, I broke it when the skunk moved. Everything I'd ever learned about being sprayed and the long-lasting effects were foremost in my mind. We didn't have any tomato juice...did we?

But it was alright, he settled down again.

The next hour was spent phoning pest control companies all of which either didn't pick up, return calls or deal with skunks. Finally, a call to the local police for information got us the name of my hero, Steve Gouker. "Skunk?," he said, "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Within half an hour a pickup truck with Steve and son Cutter arrived. Steve got out and walked towards the air conditioner. I was expecting something out of a science fiction movie, radiation suit, oxygen tank etc, but not Steve. He strode up to the vicinity, looked at the skunk and called to Cutter. "Cutter, bring the stick and a trap."

The battle began. The skunk was squirting his foul-smelling liquid and it was nothing like that brief whiff on the highway. This was full-blown, pure evil-smelling burnt rubber and it burned.

But the skunk didn't budge.

"He's got his head stuck under the AC," explained Steve.

There are a series of small holes under the unit. Somehow, our skunk was inspired to insert his head in one. He hadn't been sleeping. He'd been wondering if his day could have gotten any worse. It was about to.

"I can't get him out. I think he might die." Steve wasn't able to move the critter who now had our sympathy. While we watched, Cutter told us that they'd seen this sort of thing before, though the skunk was usually dead by the time they were called out.

"Got him!"

Steve stepped back holding his snake stick with skunk on the end. Not a very happy creature, probably embarrassed, certainly all out of stink.

Into the trap he went, to be relocated to a somewhat more remote part of the White Mountains.

Steve told us that he'd been called out a lot this year, skunks were everywhere it seemed. Well, we'd built our cabin in "skunk land", so it was hardly surprising. We were glad the little guy survived and was going to new pastures.

Steve and Cutter drove off into the morning sun with one smelly passenger and two loyal customers...and a stink that would remain a few days...out of sight, but not out of mind.

If you're in the White Mountains area and need critters removed, I would heartily recommend Steve Gouker (and Cutter), owner of Critter Ridder and Sons.