The Devil wears a Tux

As I had a long journey this morning to get to my photo shoot. I climbed out of my nice warm bed at just before 5am. As always, first thing is to hit the coffee pot and get a breath of fresh air, with a fresh cup in hand I opened the back door and was about to step out on to the porch when I was greeted by the metal trash bins out in the back being knocked over. Creeping out to the porch, I instantly, realised who the intruder was, that smell is unmistakable, not as bad as I had been led to believe before moving over here, but bad enough. There was the culprit resplendently dressed in his black and white tuxedo, our friend the local skunk. Despite the smell, skunks are clean animals and groom themselves well, this male about 2 feet long without his tail, had vivid bright white stripes set against the jet black body fur. 

Skunks will eat whatever comes along so the trash is an ideal opportunity for them to scavenge.  Although they have excellent senses of smell and hearing they have poor vision, so it's possible to sit down with the camera and take photographs without fear of the critter running off having seen me. Today I didn't have time to grab my camera but I have several shots of him in the garden on his previous visits.

w

 Even the famous Charles Darwin made comment in his book the Voyage of the Beagle –

“We saw also a couple of Zorrillos, or skunks—odious animals, which are far from uncommon. In general appearance the Zorrillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the Beagle. Certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room for the Zorrillo.”

After about half an hour the skunk realised that attempting to get in to the metal bins was useless and having eaten all the wind fallen sycamore seeds lying around, flicked his tail and disappeared up the garden and under the fence…. Until the next time !