Sask. couple discovers litter of skunks in their yard

A couple near Pense, Sask. recently came home from vacation to quite the surprise: a litter of skunks in their yard.

Gina Zepick is a self proclaimed animal lover, a factor which contributed to her choice to live on an acreage with her husband.

The couple had seen a skunk roaming around their property before heading on a fishing trip.

“I was excited on our trip to see all these critters and I was wishing for critters,” Zepick said.

As it turned out, the critters were waiting for Zepick at home.

“My cats were outside looking over the deck and I thought, ‘What’s eating my perennials?’ I went and looked over and there are these little black and white things running around.”

Zepick saw two at first, and darted inside to get her camera while her cats kept a watchful eye on the skunks. She explained that the little critters were scared of the camera at first, but quickly got over their camera shyness.

“Two came out, and then two more, and then another one, and it ended up being eight in total,” Zepick said.

She went on to explain that after initially seeing the adult skunk before leaving on their trip, Gina and her husband had a feeling that they might be seeing more.

“We’re kind of guessing it was the mama skunk…I had already done some homework and realized that they don’t spray for they say the first two to three months so I wasn’t very concerned,” Zepick said.

A couple near Pense, Sask. recently came home from vacation to a litter of skunks in their yard. (Photo courtesy: Gina Zepick)

Neither Gina nor her husband saw the adult skunk again, even after putting out a game camera.

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Zepick explained that she was advised by friends to shoot the critters. However, she didn’t see the need to get rid of her new furry guests.

“We let them be because they needed to grow up a bit more so after about ten days went by, we made sure they were all out and then covered the hole” Zepick said.

The skunks then went on to explore more and more of the yard every day, until they eventually made their way out of the area.

“When they ventured out, they walked as a group, like they were one great big skunk. So that intuitively is really smart for them,” Zepick said.

The skunks eventually made their way to a spot near the dugout on Zepick’s property with plenty of trees and other vegetation, and according to Zepick, the couple is more than happy that their guests settled on the other side of the acreage.

“These critters are doing the best they know how to do, so please try to help them versus just getting rid of them,” she said.

“Some people are going to say, ‘Oh ya just wait [until they get bigger] but I think we need to work with wildlife and do our best.”