Can skunks unhibernate?
The other night , while in the bathroom, I smelled the unmistakble smell of skunk spray.
No, the bathroom window isn’t as closed well as the others, thats why.
Was it really a skunk?
Its been horribly cold here for the past 2 months.
They wouldn’t find anything to eat.
Lots of mammals unhibernate - some who did not fatten up enough before hand. Or climatic changes have influence. Why Mrs. Phlosphr and I saw a Bear in New Hampshire just this past weekend.
I’ve seen opossums already this season, so if a possum can unhibernate then I am sure the skunk you smelled can…
Skunks don’t really hibernate, in the sense of sleeping all winter long. Neither do bears, for that matter. They do enter a state of relative dormancy for long periods, but they will occasionally get up to forage around. They can also wake up pretty fast if disturbed. Opossums don’t hibernate much at all, though I think some Southern Hemisphere possums do.
True hibernation involves an extreme drop in heart rate, body temperature, and respiration. Some examples are groundhogs, ground squirrels and bats. These guys don’t wake up so easily.
This is also the breading season. We regularly see them by the side of the roads. As is the case with our own species, the sex drive often leads to risky behavior.
As opposed to what? The casserole season? I know you’d like to have sex Pepe but that deep fryer is just too darn close for comfort.