{"id":1174,"date":"2017-12-01T11:37:57","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T17:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/gazette\/2017\/12\/01\/171201_anotherskunk\/"},"modified":"2022-04-05T16:57:54","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T21:57:54","slug":"171201_anotherskunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ericsiegmund.com\/fireant\/2017\/12\/01\/171201_anotherskunk\/","title":{"rendered":"Pep\u00e9 Le Pew Deja Vu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alert Gazette readers – and, really, aren’t you all? – will recall that I successfully, if foolishly, released a trapped skunk<\/a> a couple of days ago\"Pep\u00e9 without incident other than an elevated heart rate. I decided to give the trap a night off, but re-baited and re-armed it last night. I figured that a trapped skunk would have learned its lesson and would be focused on less confining dining opportunities.<\/p>\n

As with so many things in life lately, I was wrong. It’s Biblical: as a dog returns to its vomit, so a skunk does to its sardines (Proverbs 26:11, ORGV [Old Retired Guy Version]).<\/p>\n

I was less apprehensive about the release process this time, but I might not have been had I been able to see inside the trap while I prepared to open the door. As the video below shows, the skunk’s tail lifted ominously at one point, the equivalent of cocking the hammer on a revolver.<\/p>\n

I was a bit fascinated by the absence of any visible reaction by the skunk to the trap door springing shut. It’s a fairly violent action, jarring the whole contraption and making a rather loud noise, but the animal was so focused on getting to the sardines I had placed beneath the bars of the cage that it didn’t notice. That’s probably why gluttony is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.<\/p>\n

By the way, much of the following video is sped up 400% for those of you with short attention spans. I move that fast in real life only on special occasions…like when a skunk is in the vicinity.<\/p>\n