SUBURBAN SKUNKS AND POSSUMS

     Some years ago, when I lived in Neffsville, Pennsylvania, I trimmed shrubbery on my lawn and piled the limbs in a shallow ditch to let them decompose.  One afternoon in August, a thunderstorm dumped a deluge of rain on Neffsville.  The ditch soon filled with water that ran through my brush pile in the ditch.  I watched to see if any critters would emerge from the heap to escape the water.  Sure enough, within a minute, an opossum, North America's only marsupial, emerged from that brush pile and climbed a nearby tree.  And about a minute later, a striped skunk crawled out of that pile of boughs and waddled across our lawn to higher ground.  I was happy to see both those mammals in our yard. 

     I've seen many skunks and possums in southeastern Pennsylvania over the years, most of them on lawns and along country roads, and mostly at night.  These mammals have some traits in common.  Both are adaptable, eat anything edible and shelter under sheds, decks and porches in suburbs and cities, as well as in burrows in the ground in farmland.  And these common lawn mammals are the source of interesting true stories from my experiences with them on lawns.

     One crisp evening in October in Neffsville, I stepped into the dark back yard to get some fresh air and to look at the stars.  I suddenly heard a thumping in the dark, and, thinking it might be the stamping of a skunk, I went in the house to get a flashlight.  I flashed the light around the yard, and, sure enough there was a beautifully black and white-striped skunk busily digging diligently in the lawn after beetle grubs, and anything else edible, and stumping at me to stay away, which I did.  I backed away and left that creature to his work on our lawn.  Striped skunks stump their front feet on the ground to warn other critters to stay away.  And if they don't, those animals might get sprayed with a burning liquid.

     Another evening in Neffsville, I happened to notice another skunk entering a hole in our garbage can to eat edibles in there.  The next evening I saw that skunk emerging from a drain pipe from under our street and shuffling toward the garbage can for its supper.  I noticed our car faced that can and I got in it and turned on the engine and headlights to watch for the skunk to come out of that can with tidbits, which it repeatedly did.  I had to chuckle when that can moved about with the skunk rummaging about inside it. 

     One early morning in May, when I lived in New Holland, Pennsylvania, I was walking our dog along our street when I spied a female possum with six or more furry babies clinging to the fur on her back.  She leisurely crossed the street in front of the dog and me and the dog strained to get at the possums, which I would not let her do.  When the adult opossum saw the dog, she scurried across the street and hid under a bush in front of a house.  The dog and I walked by without further incident, but to me it was thrilling to see a mother possum, with babies, so close. 

     I have seen other striped skunks and opossums in our neighborhood in New Holland over the years, and each one is a thrill to see.  I am glad they have adapted to our lawns and live on them, as long as they can stay out of sight and don't cause any problems for human residents of any suburban neighborhood.          

         

          

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