TRAPPING THE SKUNK. 



J. A. NEWTON. 



The skunk is a much maligned animal 

 and by no means so pungent and aggres- 

 sive as he is generally represented. On 

 the contrary, he is a peaceable, well mean- 

 ing fellow, and, normally, no more mal- 

 odorous than are many rodents. True, 

 when driven to extreme defensive meas- 

 ures he does what he can, and the result is 

 often surprising, not to say suffocating. 

 Wise trappers, however, dispatch him with- 

 out any preliminary provocation of his 

 temper, and the plan has distinct advan- 

 tages. I have often caught and skinned 

 skunks all day and gone into company at 

 night without a betrayal of my previous 

 occupation. 



Though the skunk contributes a large 

 proportion of the country's fur crop, even 

 posthumous fame is denied him. Thou- 

 sands who would scorn to dress in skunk 

 skins wear his heavy, durable fur, under 

 the name of black marten or Alaska sable. 



The skunk .is a true hibernator, strictly 

 nocturnal, and gregarious when denning up 

 for the winter. He retires about December 

 ist in the Northern and New England 

 States. His trails are seen after that date 

 only during mild weather, until February, 

 which is mating time. When his fancy 

 lightly turns, a low temperature has but 

 little restraint on his movements ; the 

 depth of snow alone seeming to curtail his 

 travel. Old deserted burrows of the wood- 

 chuck, fox and badger are appropriated. 

 These re-established habitations may be 

 known early in autumn by well traveled 

 paths leading to them, and by signs of 

 nest material having been carried in. 

 Usually a considerable fecal deposit will 

 be seen near the burrows, which may be 

 identified as skunk sign if it contains a 

 mass of undigested shells of beetles and 

 other hard cased insects. These, together 

 with grubs are eaten in large numbers, 

 and form the greater portion of the ani- 

 mal's food in summer. 



Skunks are usually taken by trapping or 

 by digging them out. The latter method is 

 the surest and most remunerative when 

 they can be tracked and until the ground 

 becomes frozen hard. Then it is often a la- 

 borious task to unearth them. Traps are 

 more successful when the ground is bare 

 and tracking poor ; also during Febru- 

 ary, when tracks are so numerous and so 

 many holes are visited, that it is difficult 

 to locate the game. 



No especial care or skill is required in 

 taking skunks. Place the trap in the mouth 

 of the burrow and cover lightly with dry 



grass or leaves. It should be stapled to 

 a pole so the game may be handled with 

 safety. 



Although skunks are not credited with 

 shrewdness in avoiding traps, they are ex- 

 tremely lucky in keeping out of them at 

 times. I have had them step between the 

 jaw and pan without springing the trap. 

 More can be caught while entering a bur- 

 row than when coming out. Often I have 

 run one to earth, and placed the trap with 

 great care, only to find on the following 

 morning that he had escaped by going 

 around or over the trap, perhaps springing 

 it without getting fast. 



I now use a No. i]/ 2 trap for them be- 

 cause the jaws strike higher than those of 

 a No. i ; and if possible I drive stakes on 

 each side of it against the bank, which 

 forces the animal to walk over the snare. 



To dispatch skunks I use the 22 caliber 

 cartridge, shooting behind the shoulder. 

 This causes a less violent death than a head 

 shot, and often prevents any odor. In 

 running time the best success may be had 

 by setting traps in holes most frequented, 

 and placing a beefbone, kidney, lights, or a 

 rabbit's head in the burrow just beyond 

 the trap. 



Skunk hunting, like many other pursuits 

 yielding money, breeds thieves and swind- 

 lers. There are men who will dig out a 

 nest of skunks their neighbor has found 

 and stopped in, while that neighbor is in 

 quest of tools. Traps are robbed, pits 

 sunk beyond a competitor's trap and the 

 spoils lifted. Sometimes amateurs get 

 fooled by thinking that a burrow at which 

 a trap is set must contain game. They 

 spend hours in excavating, only to discover 

 that their greed has exceeded the return. 

 Nor does rascality stop there. Black 

 skunks, those having white only on the 

 head, are scarce in proportion to the other 

 3 grades, viz., half stripe, full narrow, and 

 white ; and are worth 50 to 75 cents apiece 

 more. The unscrupulous see it to their ad- 

 vantage to make as many black skins as 

 possible. Therefore the buyer must be 

 ever on the watch for half stripes which 

 have been blackened or from which so 

 much white has been pulled as to damage 

 them. A good buyer is never taken in ; 

 skins that have been doctored are easily 

 detected. 



A skunk catcher need not be a nuisance 

 to his leeward neighbors if he use proper 

 precaution; but if he is reckless and in- 

 different the very dogs will resent and assail 

 him. 



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