Lucky Number Seven

Don't miss the great video at the end!

On Friday, May 24th, WES was called about a group, or surfeit, of striped skunks. Baby skunks, about 7 weeks old. 

Four or five kits were being seen out during the day, rummaging among plants and grasses near their den - an excavated hollow underneath a cement walkway leading to the entrance of a two-story business complex in Soquel, CA.

It's normal to see young skunks exploring and playing outside while their mother sleeps during the day, but, according to one of the tenants, the mother was found struck and killed by a car Thursday morning.

The youngsters were alert, and kept darting back under the sidewalk when approached.

That evening, though, WES responders were able to lure two of kits out into the open, and safely capture them. A handful of moist food was left for the remaining orphans, so they would at least have nourishment.

Over the holiday weekend, volunteers checked the den site repeatedly, hoping to see the little ones out and about, but no luck. Another handful of nutritious food was left on Sunday morning.

That was the last time we left food. We needed the babies to be hungry enough to venture away from the den so we'd have a chance at capturing them all.

By Wednesday afternoon, the kits were out and roaming about.

Lead responder, Duane Titus, captured - not three, but, four baby skunks, bringing the total to six. They were immediately transported to Native Animal Rescue's skunk specialist, Monique where they joined their siblings.

The story doesn't end there... Much to our surprise, on Thursday morning we were called about another kit - baby skunk Number Seven!

Duane was on scene in minutes, but when he arrived, the skunk was no where to be found.

Later in the day, we got some help from Michelle, who works at  The Family Network (located in the complex). When she saw the baby skunk away from the den, she quickly blocked off the entrances with newspaper. The baby took refuge behind a wall.

Duane and Rebecca Dmytryk responded and were able to coax the little skunk out into the open where it was safely contained. It was delivered to Monique that evening.

If you'd like to offset the costs of feeding these orphans, please go HERE. Donate as little as $10.00 to help make a difference! Thanks!