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Forget love, it’s stink in the air for some Californians this Valentine’s Day.
Residents near San Rafael in Northern California have complained of a pungent smell interrupting the season of love.
The perpetrators? Female striped skunks rebuffing the “unwanted advancements” of males during their mating season, which lasts from January through March. Skunk babies are typically born by May.
“What’s happening is the males are pursuing the females, and if the female is not interested, she sprays them,” Melanie Piazza, the director of animal care and hospital operations for WildCare, told SFGATE. “It’s their defense for predators, but it’s also their defense for, you know, unwanted Valentine’s Day advancements.”
The cute, striped furry friends are native to California and are distinct from the rarer spotted skunk.
Skunks are considered opportunistic omnivores and eat a varied diet based on what’s available to them, which includes some pests like wasps, voles, slugs, and mice.
Wildcare, a nonprofit wildlife hospital and education center in San Rafael, took the residents’ complaints.
They’ve advised them to stay patient while skunks figure out true love.
“One thing we tell people most frequently is that this constant spraying they’re smelling is temporary,” Piazza said. “For most people who call our hotline looking for advice just because they’re smelling it a lot, basically we tell them, ‘Patience is a virtue.’ If you can just wait it out a little bit, it’ll stop as soon as they find their mates. Then the females will go den to have their young.”
Piazza says to avoid setting rat traps outside that could hurt the skunks and to be careful closing up crawl spaces in case a skunk ends up trapped. She also advised to turn on lights and make loud noise to avoid getting your dogs sprayed by scared skunks.
Rabies is a rare issue with skunks, officials say, but they say residents should “button up” their properties.
“We just provide inspection and advice on what folks can do to make sure their properties are buttoned up in a way that skunks don’t access them, because that’s much more effective at reducing interaction between people and skunks,” Contra Costa County Mosquito and Vector Control District spokesperson Nola Woods told SFGATE.
If not, a visit from California’s striped skunks could stink up your Valentine’s Day.
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