From fumigation to freedom

Little skunk wins hearts along way to recovery

By John Pacenti

In the once-upon-a-time jungle in which we live, where canals and highways long ago tamed the swamp and bulldozers shaped the barrier islands, there lives an elusive creature among the sand dunes and mangroves of Boca Raton: the Eastern spotted skunk.

This is no randy Pepé Le Pew or childlike Flower, our cartoon North Stars for everything skunk. No, this is their smaller inquisitive cousin with no singular stripe. Instead, its blackand-white coat is like a Rorschach test. The skunk is the size of a squirrel and possesses soft, curious eyes.

Living among raccoons, foxes and feral cats, these little stinkers have made their home in the dunes and mangroves that run along South Beach Park, Red Reef Park and Spanish River Park in Boca Raton.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” said Jeff Wade, who often walks among the dunes and the mangroves in Boca Raton. “I point them out to people and they say, ‘Really, skunks?’”