Larry Gude
Strung Out
...so, I run out to the store last night around 11:30 and it's a minor blood bath on my front porch. Something got ahold of a toad and had started eating him and, obviously, took off when it hear me coming. I presumed skunk but didn't smell anything. In any event, I went to kick the carcass off the porch but...he moved. He was not dead yet. Opened up, missing most of one leg. Gasping. My first thought was to stomp him out and end his misery but I don't ascribe to that. I want my last breathe, however painful it may be and left him be hoping him being alive would ensure he at least didn't go to waste.
Come back home, he's still there. Head to bed an hour later and, door closed, I can see out the top and, sure enough, skunk is back and chewing on him.
Things I learned;
There is a good bit of blood in toads.
Skunks can not chew very good, at all. I had assumed they had strong jaws and could tear up some food. Not so. He seemed to be gumming the thing and took a LOT of work to finish getting a leg off.
Skunks are actually very good looking animals. He had a cool stripe down the center of his nose and a nearly fully white back.
Skunks don't seem to notice artificial light. I flicked the light on two or three times just to see how he reacted and absolutely nothing. No visible evidence he noticed at all.
This skunk can't see very well with the porch light on. I watched for a bit and, finally, he just grab ahold of him and took him off to eat somewhere else. When he started to walk off, he bumped into a stool on the porch and seemed to braille method his way around it.
I considered, briefly, getting the shotgun and disposing of the skunk but decided otherwise. Very mellow mood last night. That was one of my favorite toads but, skunks gotta eat, too.
So, there''s that.
Come back home, he's still there. Head to bed an hour later and, door closed, I can see out the top and, sure enough, skunk is back and chewing on him.
Things I learned;
There is a good bit of blood in toads.
Skunks can not chew very good, at all. I had assumed they had strong jaws and could tear up some food. Not so. He seemed to be gumming the thing and took a LOT of work to finish getting a leg off.
Skunks are actually very good looking animals. He had a cool stripe down the center of his nose and a nearly fully white back.
Skunks don't seem to notice artificial light. I flicked the light on two or three times just to see how he reacted and absolutely nothing. No visible evidence he noticed at all.
This skunk can't see very well with the porch light on. I watched for a bit and, finally, he just grab ahold of him and took him off to eat somewhere else. When he started to walk off, he bumped into a stool on the porch and seemed to braille method his way around it.
I considered, briefly, getting the shotgun and disposing of the skunk but decided otherwise. Very mellow mood last night. That was one of my favorite toads but, skunks gotta eat, too.
So, there''s that.
Sorry, but I just got a mental picture of that happening to me and me jumping around on one leg trying to fling the flip flop off. 
