Neighbourhood excitement

Yesterday we were working around the house, trying to clean up before our big trip, when we got a visit from the neighbour right beside us. He is a nice fellow who we don't see all that often. He started to tell us that he has had a visitor for the past couple of days that has been living on his patio. The neighbourhood skunk has come to stay!

Anyway, our patios are sunken in below ground level on the ground floor in the back, so we figure the skunk went exploring, fell onto his patio and doesn't have the climbing skill to climb up the 3' concrete block wall to freedom. We also think he may have hurt himself in getting to the patio because he doesn't seem to be scrounging to get out even though he hasn't had any food or shelter in days. This morning he was shivering too. None of us who are involved want to exterminate the little fellow, so in light of the recent weather developments, we have given him a box to sleep in until he is healthy enough to make his way out. We've also provided some food to try to lure him up the ramps we have made to ease his escape.

Below is a photo of him from yesterday on the mat in front of our neighbours patio window. Cute little fellow. Our neighbour has been joking about keeping the critter as a security system!!


Update: On the Sunday night, the skunk made his way over to our deck but couldn't find the ramp up out of our patio due to the amount of snow that had fallen. Looking at the little skunk paw prints all over our deck, he checked everywhere and then went back to the deck he knew at the neighbours. Unfortunately, by that time our neighbour had removed the ramp down to his patio and turned the box they had made as a shelter for the fella unsidedown because he thought the skunk was gone. When the skunk came back, he fell into the neighbour's patio and ripped up the box trying to get into it. Anyway, the good part is that Animal Rescue was able to come the next day and get the little guy. They carted him away, warmed him up, fed him and fixed up any injuries. Skunkie should be living back in the wild - probably a lot better than South Granville - by now. A good end to a rather trying time for a little fellow.