Sunday evening I watched two skunk kits forage. This was odd. Normally at this time of year these juvenile skunks would be accompanied (and supervised) by their mother, but these two were alone — no mother. Over two weeks earlier, I had posted Turkey Vultures where I noted that the carcass of a skunk (now assumed to be the mother) was the object of the vulture’s feeding. Now, the clearly hungry kits were desperately looking for food on their own.
The kits foraged extensively on the grass and the beach, but only the one that found something will be followed here.
The skunk would sniff the ground as it foraged and found something under a visually undistinguished spot on the beach. It then dug it up. There are very few animals which will bury a partial meal for later, and the most likely one around here is the coyote.
But what (rotting) delectable has this kit found? This picture shows what might be either a fin or feathers. As the likely burier was a coyote, this is probably the remains of a bird.
The skunk kit carried his prize to the longer grass, presumably for security. It spent considerable time trying to eat what looked like a rather long alimentary canal. Mind you, its molars are likely not well-developed. Granted, the kit is rather small, but it may have come from a raven. Photo by Cynthia.
A shot of the meal shows what looks like feathers (lower left). Photo by Cynthia.
