Once outside , I realized that as Kathryn suspected , one baby was trapped inside . But the others — my pulse quickened , my knees trembled — swarmed all over the trap , sniffing , chirping , clawing at the wire mesh . My only option was to slide the metal door open and free the little guy without delay . Easy enough with a red squirrel in full sunlight , but skunk extraction in dim light under the watchful eyes of mother and siblings could be dicey .
The challenge was to remove baby without any chance of misguided chemical retaliation from an anxious Mom . The solution was simple : figure out a way to lure the family away , then while they were otherwise occupied , release Junior from Have-A-Heart Jail . I asked Kathryn to spread peanut butter on a handful of crackers . Being careful not to make any sudden moves , I arranged the pile of skunk-attractors on a spruce stump some distance away .
Once the bait was in place , they abandoned the imprisoned one and dashed to the stump . I crept back to baby , dropped to my knees . But when skunk family heard me fiddling with the metal door , they returned en masse . They didn ’ t just sit on their haunches and watch me struggle with the hasp , they gyrated around my ankles , climbed over my legs , nibbled my pants , nosed my hands and arms . Heart pounding , knowing Kathryn would never tire of retelling this story if my plan went south , I pressed on , managed to snap open the door . Baby jumped out , and amidst much chirping and murmuring , rejoined his family . Relieved , I took a step back , watched them touch noses and exchange licks . Being careful not to make noise , I eased toward the house .
33
I was half way to the deck when my wife called , “ You ’ ve got company !”
I stopped , looked down . The entire family was at my feet . They nosed my ankles , rubbed against my pant legs , scooted back and forth over my shoes . I was the pied-piper of skunks . Had they imprinted on me , would they stick with me forever like ducks did with Konrad Lorenz ? They swirled around my ankles until I reached the deck , then scampered back to the crackers . A few minutes later , mother and young drifted into the forest .
We never saw another rotating disk of skunks . I often think of them , marvel at