Skunks

Catman respects the power of the skunk.

Disney Skunk

Warner Bros Skunk

Who here has encountered a skunk? I've heard they're actually pretty mellow, and will only release their spray if you're clearly attacking them. I met up with one twice over the course of a week a few months ago; the first time, I nearly tripped over it in the dark, and the second I inadvertently walked up to it, spotting it just about three feet in front of me. Both times it nonchalantly waddled away--not scared, not running, but not confronting me, either. Is that typical for skunks?

I have encountered four legged skunks many times and have never had any problems with them spraying.
Can smell when they have travelled through tho'.

One had gotten itself down into the pump hole and I had to put a make-shift ladder / walkway board thing for it to climb up to get out of the hole. It just sat and watched the whole procedure. By next morning, the skunk was gone.

One was making a nest under the shed (carrying hay and grass there with its intent obvious). I have one of those dinner bell triangles and clanged it a few times when the skunk was travelling around the yard. She decided that the neighborhood was too noisy and moved on.

Now... two legged skunks are a whole 'nuther matter with sadder endings to the stories.

There is a board Looney who periodically goes Tuney and rants about Pepe LePew being a "Rampant Sexual Predator".

Once I actually read the Wiki Link posted earlier .... there's a ton of info about the Smell-Ability of our striped friend :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk#Anal_scent_glands

chemical diagrams and everything even !

...if you want a real treat, try "skunk cabbage"

People will keep their distance from you after eating this...

Gleaned info:
"I recently bought a Peterson Field Guide To Wild Edible Plants and found out that Skunk Cabbage has a few edible parts!! I never knew this. It said that if you peel the root into thin slices and dry them out a couple hours before cooking they're safe to eat. I make cordage from the fibers from the Skunk Cabbage stem and use it to cover my scent but I never used it for food. Also, you can eat the young whitish green leaves that bloom in early spring, if you boil them in sets of water. Maybe you guys already knew this, but I just thought it was a little crazy. Because when you smell Skunk Cabbage I don't think you'll want to eat it." 

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Recently, someone posted on Foragers Unite  that they had eaten Skunk Cabbage; and I thought, ‘Ewe, for real?’ Then, laughed at myself, thinking, if only I had a nickel for every time someone has said to me, “Ewe, you are NOT going to eat THAT, are you?” But, stinky, Skunk Cabbage, really, you eat that? I knew that the roots have medicinal value, but, are also potentially toxic. So, for me, Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, has already been filed under the unavoidables. And, the only habitat I’ve ever seen them growing in, is scary, swampy wetness. I’m a firm believer in the “better to be safe than sorry” rule; and avoid possibly hazardous situations, especially when out alone.

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Never-the-less, inquiring minds need to know; so I went cyber sailing; to find:

“In the 19th century the U.S. Pharmacopoeia listed Eastern Skunk Cabbage as the drug “dracontium“. It was used in the treatment of respiratory diseases, nervous disorders, rheumatism, and dropsy. It is not considered edible raw, because the roots are toxic and the leaves can burn the mouth.” 

And, indeed, some folks do eat Skunk Cabbage! “In North America and Europe, skunk cabbage is occasionally cultivated in water gardens. Skunk cabbage was used extensively as a medicinal plant, seasoning, and magical talisman by various tribes of Native Americans. While not considered edible raw, because the roots are toxic and the leaves can burn the mouth, the leaves may be dried and used in soups and stews” 

However, after reading Steve Brill’s review, I will pass, “Marginally edible at best, skunk cabbage contains calcium oxalate crystals, which cause the most unpleasant burning sensation of the mouth and tongue. Boiling does not dispel this quality,”

and this on calcium oxalate, convinces me:

“Calcium oxalate, a major constituent of human kidney stones, is a poisonous substance that can produce sores and numbing on ingestion and could even be fatal. It is also found in rhubarb (in large quantities in the leaves) and in species of Oxalis, Araceae, taro, kiwifruit, tea leaves, agaves, and Alocasia and in spinach in varying amounts. Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals are found in plant stems, roots, and leaves. Kidney stone sufferers should not eat plants high in oxalates. Even a small dose of calcium oxalate is enough to cause intense sensations of burning in the mouth and throat, swelling, and choking that could last for up to two weeks. In greater doses it can cause severe digestive upset, breathing difficulties, coma or even death. Recovery from severe oxalate poisoning is possible, but permanent liver and kidney damage may have occurred.” 
So, really, I’ll pass!"

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"Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, is a low growing, nasty smelling, intriguing, flowering, perennial plant, that is one of the first plants to emerge, often through ice; due to its ability to generate temperatures of 10-15° above air temperature; placing it in a small group of plants exhibiting thermogenesis.

The mottled, lime-green and red-maroon, hooded, bract flower-canopy appears before the leaves, and is called a spathe, which surrounds the actual flower cluster, knob structure, called a spadix.

Although, not poisonous to the touch, breaking or tearing a leaf produces a skunk-ass, but not harmful, stench. So, I will enjoy Skunk Cabbage from the solid edge of the swamp, through my zoom lens, thank you very much."