The Dumpster-Diving Striped Skunk

The following story about a striped skunk was submitted by All Things Wild Rehabilitation in Texas.

A wild skunk was caught dumpster diving — well, dumpster diving with a twist. We received a call from a resident at Sun City in Georgetown that a skunk had been lying outside a garbage dumpster for several days. When All Things Wild volunteers went to investigate, they found a young striped skunk with her head caught in a drainage hole at the base of a dumpster.

With one person on the outside of the dumpster and another on the inside, they slowly worked the skunk’s head out of the hole. Once free, they wrapped her in a blanket and took her to the rehabilitation center with the car windows down because the little skunk, frightened from her experience, sprayed into the blanket.

A thorough examination found that she was dehydrated and thin after being stuck in the dumpster for several days but otherwise healthy. After being treated with electrolyte fluids and easily digestible EmerAid IC Carnivore food, she recuperated in our quarantine unit for a couple of weeks until the frigid weather in December passed.

She was released at Brushy Creek Lake Park, far away from garbage dumpsters. Except for that first spray, she never sprayed again.