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Skunk Population Spikes In The Bay Area

SAN RAFAEL (KPIX 5) -- The number of skunks in the Bay Area is on the rise and you can thank the wet winter for that.

Sonja Bohannon is fostering two baby skunks.

But babies rarely spray, which is important because the entire WildCare staff and its volunteers have had to step up to the plate this year.

Spokesperson Alison Hermance says Wildcare usually gets 40 to 60 skunks a year.

Already this year they've already passed that total with 75, with no sign of stopping.

She's fostering five and with that many skunks marooned or orphaned everyone plays a part in helping raise them.

Hermance said, "It's kind of amazing, we're actually having a major boom of skunks this year. We're seeing it at WildCare but I suspect it's consistent all across the Bay Area."

Sonja Bohannon is a skunk foster mom. She said, they are old enough that apparently they can spray.

"That hasn't happened yet," Bohannon said.

WildCare thinks the spike was caused by the wet winter we had, which made skunks food sources thrive. bugs, slugs and rodents all fall into that category.

While the species is infamous for their one, odorous defense mechanism, WildCare says they actually make great neighbors.

"The things that dig through your lawn, the things that eat your flowers, your skunk friend is eating all of those things. He's also eating the rats and the mice that run through your yard. So if you have a skunk in your yard or in your neighborhood, he's actually doing a really, really, really good service for you, " Hermance explains.

But when they're rescued very young, they start out on formula and get fed every three hours. Then they move to real food once they are bigger.

Eventually, WildCare teaches them to forage, before they're reintroduced into the wild.

So while the baby version of those skunks are cute, they are still wild animals and WildCare says you are welcome to bring them to their location in San Rafael if you find them.

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