Originally Posted by Chase

Since I'm deaf and need binoculars to see farther than I can put a shot, my sense of smell must have used the abandoned nerves, as even the de-scented skunks smell bad to me. But they sure are cute, especially the kittens following along in line like a string of ducklings.

Skunks are a natural enemy of bees, but they don't tear up the hives as bears do. Skunks scratch at the entryway, and when guard bees and drones pile outside to fight and bluff, the skunks sweep up the bees with their brushy tails. It appears that the heavy scent stuns the bees, because they're easily combed from the tails with claws and eaten. At any rate, skunks don't seem to mind an occasional sting inside the mouth.

A healthy hive has about 75,000 bees, and a dining skunk will take half before waddling away full.

When I smell skunks in the vicinity, we trap them live, and fish and wildlife people haul them away. Better them than me.