Did I almost get sprayed by a skunk last night?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (205753)
Walnut Creek, California
September 27, 2016 11:11pm CST
I taught my 7PM to 10 PM Introductory Psychology class last night and was heading to my truck. It was actually about 11 PM, as a student and I had been chatting after class.
As I neared the parking lot, on a semi-darkened path, I noticed a skunk directly in front of me, slightly to the right. He was about six feet away.
I froze. He froze. I started to take back-steps, like a football defensive back only slower. He scurried into the ground cover to my right.
I could see by the movement of the foliage that he was moving toward me, not away from me, but not in an aggressive fashion (skunks very occasionally carry rabies).
I reversed my direction and walked forward, into the parking lot. The skunk went back to doing skunk things.
I wondered, I was climbing into my truck, what it takes to get sprayed by a skunk. Is it getting too close, as a curious dog might? Is it acting predatory in some way? Did my animal whisperer tendencies make a difference? I really don't know
22 people like this
22 responses
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
28 Sep 16
@xFiacre Two of my oldest brothers once got expelled from school for filling an atomizer bottle (old style perfume bottle) with eau de skunk and leaving it on the teacher's desk as an anonymous "gift"!
4 people like this
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
4 Oct 16
@TheHorse @MALUSE
No animal I know of has ever been harmed by it. Tomato juice, Grandma's cure, is actually less effective than peroxide and baking soda. And your dog gets highlighted fur. *snicker*
I'm glad you didn't get sprayed. I came across one early the other morning on my way to the car. He was about six feet (two meters) for me. Happily, the little guy saw me first and decided to do a 180. I saw him making his way down the block, happily conducting skunk business elsewhere.
Anything and more than you ever wanted to know about skunk spray:
Chemistry of Skunk Spray William F. Wood, Department of Chemistry Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521 E-Mail wfw2@humboldt.edu Phone (707) 826-3109 Return to Skunk Defensive Secretion Page Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) Skunk defensive secreti
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (48421)
• Mojave, California
28 Sep 16
Skunks seem to vary in personality. Some are quick to spray and others just do it when necessary. That is what it seems to me by all the dogs I have had. I could swear my old German Shepherd was grazing with one, one night. He was one of the ones that did get sprayed and actually sprayed twice in his life. One spray lasted a month and the other about a week and he barely caught the tail end of that spray. So be happy you did not get sprayed. lol
2 people like this
@crossbones27 (48421)
• Mojave, California
28 Sep 16
@TheHorse Could be the case, some of them do not seem to be very afraid of people.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205753)
• Walnut Creek, California
28 Sep 16
@crossbones27 I actually find skunks to be cute. One of my music friends said one waddled over his foot in his back yard on its way from point A (his outside kitty food) to point B (back to the bushes).
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458091)
• Switzerland
29 Sep 16
Animals only attack if they feel in danger. The skunk did not spray you, because you respected its territory and let the skunk go. It's the same with the stink bugs, they release the liquid when injured, startled or attacked. I always get them in my hands to throw them out the windows and they have never sprayed me.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
28 Sep 16
whatever it is, I am glad you escaped unsmelly!
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
28 Sep 16
Getting farther away and not being a threat was a good idea.
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (95001)
• United States
28 Sep 16
I am glad you didn't get sprayed. Maybe if you frighten the skunk it'd spray?
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
28 Sep 16
AWW! MAN! I read your title and really thought you had a new very pungent cologne on today, pony! Then I read your title again and realized I was only wishing you were wearing a new (to you) very pungent cologne! 
You never can tell what may or may not make a skunk decide to deliver with both barrels!
You don't say whether the skunk you were playing chicken with used any of the telltale signs that signal s/he was upset or bothered by you intruding into the area s/he was in, pony. Uhm... would you recognize those signs if the skunk had used them?
When you and the skunk both froze, did s/he raise its tail and drop its head towards the ground? Did s/he start stamping its front feet on the ground in a type of dance step looking movement? When s/he moved away did s/he then lower its tail and scurry away, or did s/he saunter into the brush?
You never can tell what may or may not make a skunk decide to deliver with both barrels!
You don't say whether the skunk you were playing chicken with used any of the telltale signs that signal s/he was upset or bothered by you intruding into the area s/he was in, pony. Uhm... would you recognize those signs if the skunk had used them?
When you and the skunk both froze, did s/he raise its tail and drop its head towards the ground? Did s/he start stamping its front feet on the ground in a type of dance step looking movement? When s/he moved away did s/he then lower its tail and scurry away, or did s/he saunter into the brush?1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
29 Sep 16
@TheHorse Yes, it is.... The will also do handstands hoping to warn you away, too. (No, I am not joking.)
Skunks are not normally afraid of anything. They know that their spray will deter everything except something that is starving.
I would say your friend was just out for an evening snack, saw something but couldn't tell what it was and when you retreated, he continued on his way. No problem.
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
29 Sep 16
Yes, your inner animal whisperer saved the day. That and backing off. I really don't know why they share their scent. I think it a fear factor. You probably would not have been sprayed but it was a wise move to not take that chance...
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
28 Sep 16
Well, if ever you do get sprayed @TheHorse , the cure is tomato juice. Seriously. You have to pour it all over you, rub it in and then rinse off.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
29 Sep 16
@TheHorse Even out of your hair. Depending on how much you love the clothes you are wearing, you can douse those too. If it gets the smell out of a double-coated Akita (which happened), it'll get rid of it from clothes as well.
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
28 Sep 16
Several years ago, we were driving my daughter to the airport, very early in the morning. We stopped at coffee shop along the way, and while my husband was grabbing the coffee my daughter and I started counting skunks one....two..........seven.....twelve.....
They were foraging the trash spread throughout the parking lot, ignoring the coffee shop patrons.
A most bizarre experience.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
29 Sep 16
@TheHorse years ago on a family vacation we watched a family of skunk walking along a country road. It looked amazing. Mom and her kittens, four if I remember correctly.
@LindaCPearson (2241)
• United States
28 Sep 16
I think it's a classic case of "phew" rather than "pee yew!" Glad to hear you made it to safety without getting sprayed.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
29 Sep 16
That was a close one. Glad you didn't get sprayed.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Oct 16
Obviously I've never smelt skunk but I gather from all accounts that it is pretty bad. Thankfully we don't have rabies here either - another benefit of being an 'island' of sorts.
@teamfreak16 (43421)
• Denver, Colorado
28 Sep 16
I saw on TV once that they spray as a last resort.
1 person likes this
