The House Guest

Something aroused Frank from his sleep. He glanced at his clock and noticed that it was 3 a.m., a time when he was usually sound asleep. What had wakened him - a noise, a movement or just a sense of some presence nearby? He lay quietly listening and trying to detect a sound or movement. He detected a scratching sound coming from under his bed. A minute or so later he definitely heard  something on his computer desk. Getting out of bed and flipping on the light, he spotted the source of the disturbance - a squirrel-sized animal with black eyes and a white spot on its otherwise black face. As the animal turned to run, Frank grabbed it by the tail. The visitor simply turned and looked at Frank. Frank then decided to let it go and call me in the morning.

When I got the call and listened to Frank’s description, I asked him if it could have been a skunk. Frank said “No, not a skunk. I know what a skunk looks like. Anyway, it ran into the bathroom, and I locked him in.” I called Dan Chase and told him to bring a net; we went to investigate. Upon opening the bathroom door, we were met with Spilogale gracilis or a Western Spotted Skunk. Apparently it had been living in Frank’s house for quite awhile and was not at all concerned about our presence. Trying to net this animal was not an option, since we did not want to get it stressed. Frank’s pet cat had recently died, and the skunk had found the bag of cat food and the water dish that were still out. Frank had even been in the habit of leaving his sliding glass door open during the good weather, so the cat could get in and out - the skunk took advantage of a good opportunity.

The House Guest

I explained to Frank that it was very fortunate that he had grabbed this animal by the tail since this prevented the animal from spraying. When threatened, this skunk will do a handstand and spray the offender from its anal scent glands. The squirrel-sized skunk is the smallest skunk in the southwest and the only one known to climb trees.  It is easily distinguishable from other skunks by its size and unique markings. We were able to use a large live trap and catch and remove it to a new location without incident. He was a beauty!