It’s skunk-spotting season - relax and make some noise
It’s the time of year for skunk sightings, and it might be an unusually busy season. But they’re not great at sighting you, so an expert suggests you make a racket.

thestar.com
By Alicja Siekierska
Sept. 15, 2016

Kathleen Minor has been living in the Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood for seven years, and said she has never seen so many skunks in the area.

“We see one almost every night,” said Minor, who works in security and often walks to her home near Shaw St. between Queen St. and Dundas St. late at night.

“It was consistent all summer. I’ve never had so many close calls with skunks as I did this year.”

She’s not alone. With skunk being spotted in neighbourhoods across the city, it raises the question: are skunks the new raccoon in Toronto?

The City of Toronto’s Animal Services department does not keep track of mere sightings of skunks but between February 1 and April 21 of last year, Animal Services responded to 72 calls about dead or injured skunks. During the same period this year, 339 such calls were received. (Raccoon reports more than doubled, too.)

However, Nathalie Karvonen, executive director of the Toronto Wildlife Centre, said “there is no way” the population of skunks in the city has increased substantially in 2016. Denise Smith, president of Innovative Care of the Environment (ICE), a wildlife removal company, says there’s often more calls this time of year because it’s what she calls “baby season” for skunks.

“They’re all little stinkers, basically teenagers at this point,” said Smith. “The skunk population has remained fairly consistent. It’s this time of year when they’re having babies so you’ll have a lot more sightings, often during the daytime, which freaks people out a little bit.”

Skunks are den dwellers, and will often burrow under porches, sheds and decks. Smith’s company ICE provides skunk removal services, which involves enclosing the space with a steel fence featuring a one-way door so the skunks can escape, but never return. Smith says it can set customers back anywhere from $500 to $1,200, depending on the size of the space.

David Singh didn’t have to spend hundreds on getting rid of a porch-dwelling skunk, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying on the small creature’s part.

One hot and humid summer evening, Singh decided to reward himself after an evening shift as a TV producer with a cigar and a glass of 15-year-old Glenfiddich on the steps of his front porch near Steeles Ave. and Brimley Rd.

Listening to music, Singh was relaxed and enjoying the quiet evening - until he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

At first, he couldn’t distinguish what the creature was, but once he spotted a silvery-white tail Singh knew it was a skunk.

“It made a beeline right towards me,” said Singh. “I expected it to stop but it actually came close and went right next to me.”

At that point, he jumped off the front porch and fled to the edge of the street in his pyjamas, where he remained for an extra 10 minutes while the skunk tried to burrow under the front porch.

Minor, who has seen a skunk several times sneak into her backyard, suspects there may be a den nearby. Her solution has been to avoid the area.

“After so many run-ins, we said we won’t stay out past a certain point, just to make sure,” said Minor.

Karvonen said people shouldn’t be concerned about rabies when it comes to skunks, conceding that the disease does show up once in a while, as it does in every animal population.

“For the most part, they are very benign animals who just want to be left alone,” said Karvonen. If you do come across a skunk outside, Karvonen recommends making noise so the animal is aware you are there.

“Whistle, hum, say ‘hello skunk’ because their vision is quite poor and their most apt to spray when they are surprised,” she said. “If you’re letting your dog outside, it’s also a good idea to check if you have skunks in your area or make a little noise to warn them.”

Still, she says raccoons remain the staple of Toronto’s wilderness.

“We got 30 calls about raccoons on Christmas Day alone last year,” she said. “It’s still vastly all about raccoons.”