Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} If Streets Could Talk What Would They Say by Mr. Skunk Ape If Streets Could Talk What Would They Say? by Mr. Skunk Ape. From and To can't be the same language. That page is already in . Something went wrong. Check the webpage URL and try again. Sorry, that page did not respond in a timely manner. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Something went wrong, please try again. Try using the Translator for the Microsoft Edge extension instead. If Streets Could Talk What Would They Say? by Mr. Skunk Ape. From and To can't be the same language. That page is already in . Something went wrong. Check the webpage URL and try again. Sorry, that page did not respond in a timely manner. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Something went wrong, please try again. Try using the Translator for the Microsoft Edge extension instead. What to do about skunks. Skunks, easily identifiable by their characteristic black and white striping, are infamous for producing a foul odor when frightened. Although a skunk’s spray is known mostly for its robust smell, it can also cause intense discomfort if it gets into a person or animal’s eyes. Fortunately, these mild-mannered creatures rarely use this potent defense, and provide quite a few benefits to the areas they inhabit. In cases where eviction is necessary, a few mild harassment and deterrence techniques can help you humanely remove skunks while escaping smell-free. Common conflicts and solutions. It is more likely you will smell a skunk than see one. Persistent, faint musky smells under a building or woodpile may suggest that a skunk has taken up residence. You may find small, shallow holes in the lawn, similar to those made by squirrels, which are a result of a skunk foraging for grubs. Occasionally, you may even find plants knocked over or damage to the lower leaves or ears of ripening garden crops, including corn. You should look for these additional clues; foxes also have their own musky scent that may cause misidentification. Skunk encounters. Occasional skunk sightings in a neighborhood are not a cause for alarm. Because skunks are generally easy-going, they will not intentionally bother people. In fact, skunks may benefit humans by eating many insects and rodents many regard as pests. Warning signs to heed. Skunks use their powerful defense only when they or their young are threatened and cannot escape. Even then, they give ample warning that should be heeded — stamping front feet, a raised tail, hissing, short forward charges and twisting their hind end around in your direction. Spotted skunks will even contort into a characteristic handstand, rump in the air with eyes still fixed on the threat. Move away slowly and quietly. By nature, dogs tend to ignore these warnings, so it is important they be restrained for their own good. Tolerance. Because of the lingering odor, and fear of being sprayed it may be hard for some people to tolerate skunks living under a deck or old shed. But skunks need shelter when they are most vulnerable (during the coldest parts of the winter and when raising young). The nocturnal habits of skunks, their non-aggressive nature and the beneficial role they play are all good reasons to leave them alone until they have moved on their own accord (which they readily do) or can safely be encouraged to leave an area where they are not wanted. Protecting your yard. Habitat modification. Skunks are opportunists at heart — they’re mainly attracted to low-hanging fruit like garbage and pet food left out at night, as well as convenient denning sites, such as wood and rock piles, elevated sheds, openings under concrete slabs and porches and crawl spaces. Preventive measures, such as removing attractants around houses, will decrease the likelihood of an unpleasant skunk encounter. This includes securing trash, covering window wells, feeding pets indoors, or if fed outdoors, removing food immediately after pets eat. Skunks may also dig for grubs in the yard when wet soil conditions push grubs close to the surface — their presence may be a sign of an overwatered lawn. Occasionally, however, a skunk may also wander into an open garage or shed, which is a compelling reason to secure all outbuildings. Preventing denning (exclusion) Exclusion techniques should be used proactively to prevent denning before an animal moves in. Any suspected skunk den should first be checked to determine if it has residents. This may be done by loosely filling the hole (or holes) with soil, leaves, straw, crumpled paper or similar material. If a skunk is present, the animal will easily push their way out overnight and reopen the hole. If the plug remains undisturbed for two or three nights, it is safe to assume that the hole is unoccupied and can be filled. In the winter, skunks may remain inactive for longer periods, so provide them with a bit more time to disturb the plug before blocking the den entrance. Permanently exclude skunks (and other den-seeking creatures) with an L-shaped footer of welded wire or similar barriers. If a skunk is using the den, either harassment or eviction using a one-way door system is recommended. When evicting skunks, be sure that dependent young are not present. When in doubt, assume they are and use the door only after they start following their mother to forage. Leave the door in place from two or three nights to a week to be sure the skunk has left. Harassment. When it is safe to displace skunks, mild harassment can be very effective. This can be as simple as loosely repacking the den hole with leaves or straw or other material to see if the skunk gets the message and moves elsewhere. If they require more persuading, adding light and noise to make an dark and quiet denning space unattractive may help as well. Make sure the skunk is not close by before setting up the disturbances. About repellants. Repellants may also be effective in skunk deterrence. Mild repellents, such as used kitty litter, can be placed near or inside the den to one side so the skunk has to pass them to get out; commercial or homemade capsaicin or castor oil repellents may also be tried. Avoid buying skunk deterrents that are based on predator urine — these products are created under inhumane conditions, and are not necessary to repel skunks effectively. Stronger products, such as the powerful capsaicin-based “hot sauces,” are often unnecessary — in the case that they are used, they must be treated with extreme care due to the consequences for people, and animals who may inadvertently come into contact with them. Skunk in garage. Skunks who have wandered into a garage can simply be allowed to wander back out by making sure the door is open before dusk. Skunks are nocturnally active, so opening the door at dusk and closing it later in the evening is likely to be a solution to this problem. It is important to make sure the skunk has not been coming and going for long enough to have established a den and given birth, and that any accessible foods (bags of bird seed, for example) have been moved and secured in tightly sealed containers. Removal from a window well. It is not uncommon for skunks, with their climbing abilities and weak eyesight, to become trapped in a window well or similarly deep pit. If this happens, provide a means of escape. Place a rough board (or one with cleats, carpet, toweling, chicken wire or other material to give the animal traction) that is long enough to serve as a ramp out of the well. Skunks are poor climbers, so the board should lean no steeper than a 45-degree angle. Trying to stay out of sight of the skunk, slowly and carefully lower the board. If possible, a second person with a vantage point high enough to see the skunk (perhaps from an upstairs window) can warn of any signs of agitation. Another method of placing the board is to tie it to the end of a long pole and lower it by holding the opposite end of the pole. Once the board is placed, keep people and pets away from the area until nightfall, when the skunk should leave. If the skunk cannot climb out due to the well’s depth or steepness, the Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association recommends a technique that involves a garbage can and smelly cheese. Place the cheese at the bottom of the can and lower it on its side with the open end facing the skunk. Once the skunk enters and begins to dine, carefully tilt the can up a bit, raising it elevator-style out of the window well, then gently tip it on its side again so the skunk can amble out. Neutralizing odors. The traditional remedy for removing the smell of skunk spray is a tomato juice bath. However, tomato juice, in conjunction with vinegar, only serves to reduce the stench, as it doesn’t neutralize the molecules that make skunk spray particularly pungent. Here’s a particularly effective remedy that’s safe for dogs and cats, as well as humans: 1 quart of 3-percent hydrogen peroxide (available at any pharmacy) 1/4 cup baking soda 1 teaspoon liquid dishwashing soap. Wearing rubber gloves, wash with this solution immediately after the spraying occurs. DO NOT get the solution in eyes. (If you don't have peroxide, baking soda, and liquid soap on hand, use vinegar diluted with water.) Caution: Do NOT store this mixture or make it ahead of time, as the mixture could explode if left in a bottle. Rub the mixture all over and scrub deep to neutralize the odor — however, if you’re washing your dog or cat, don’t leave the mixture on longer than you have to as peroxide can bleach fur. Rinse the solution off thoroughly, and the smell should be gone. The cruelty of lethal control. People will go to extreme lengths to avoid getting sprayed by a skunk — even those who bill themselves as wildlife-control professionals. To stay outside the range of spray, these hired workers will sometimes kill skunks by injecting chemical solvents, such as acetone (aka nail polish remover), into the animal’s chest using a long pole syringe, likely causing a painful and stressful death.. Skunks are at particular risk of inhumane killing methods, including treatment as horrific as drowning. As long as humane methods of deterrence and eviction are possible, there are ways to avoid being sprayed by skunks without causing extreme suffering. Public health concerns. The skunk is one of four wild animals (including the fox, raccoon and bat) considered to be primary carriers of the rabies virus and is, therefore, classified as a rabies vector species. Skunks have also been known to carry leptospirosis. Is that skunk rabid? Even though skunks are mostly active at night, they sometimes look for food by day—particularly in the spring, when they have young and may be extra hungry. Don’t be concerned if you see an adult skunk in the daytime unless they are also showing abnormal behaviors: Limb paralysis. Circling. Boldness or unprovoked aggression. Disorientation, staggering. Uncharacteristic tameness. Don’t approach the skunk yourself. Call your local animal control officer, wildlife rehabilitator, health department, or police department for assistance. If Streets Could Talk What Would They Say? by Mr. Skunk Ape. From and To can't be the same language. That page is already in . Something went wrong. Check the webpage URL and try again. Sorry, that page did not respond in a timely manner. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Sorry, that page doesn't exist or is preventing translations. Something went wrong, please try again. Try using the Translator for the Microsoft Edge extension instead. If Streets Could Talk What Would They Say? by Mr. Skunk Ape. Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office A photograph taken during an alleged up-close and personal encounter with the Florida Skunk Ape. This photo was sent to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, along within an unsigned letter claiming that the creature had climbed onto the sender’s back deck. Dec. 22, 2000. Three days before Christmas in the year 2000, a family in Florida awoke to a loud noise on their back deck. There was so much banging and pounding that it sounded like some overweight drunk was knocking over deck chairs, but with all that noise came something that couldn’t possibly be human: a low, deep grunting, and with it, a stench like something was rotting. When they came out to the back window, they saw something they never expected to see. There on their deck was a great, huge, lumbering beast, covered in hair from head to toe. The family figured it was escaped orangutan on the lam from the local zoo. But when the photo they took started making its rounds online, a handful of true believers in the paranormal had a different explanation altogether. The monster on their deck, they believed, was none other than Florida’s own Bigfoot: the Skunk Ape. Inside Skunk Ape Headquarters. Richard Elzey/Flickr David Shealy’s Skunk Ape Research Headquarters in Ochopee, Florida. For at least one man, hunting down the Skunk Ape is a full-time job: Dave Shealy, the self-proclaimed “Jane Goodall of Skunk Apes.” Shealy runs Skunk Ape Headquarters, a research facility focused on proving that these creatures are real. He says that he’s poured his life into proving that they exist ever since he spotted his first one at the tender age of ten: “It was walking across the swamp, and my brother spotted it first. But I couldn’t see it over the grass—I wasn’t tall enough. My brother picked me up, and I saw it, about 100 yards away. We were just kids, but we’d heard about it, and knew for sure what we were looking at. It looked like a man, but completely covered with hair.” Spotting A Skunk Ape. In essence, the Skunk Ape isn’t too different from Bigfoot, other than a few unique charms. They roam exclusively through Florida’s Everglade forests, often in whole packs, and they’re said to be peaceful and kind. What really sets them apart, though, is the smell – a stench Shealy describes as “kind of like a wet dog and a skunk mixed together.” The earliest well-known Skunk Ape sighting happened in 1957, when a pair of hunters claimed that a gigantic, smelly ape invaded their camp in the Everglades. Their story picked up traction and, as it spread, the creature started to pick up its own unique name, inspired by its distinct smell. Dozens of sightings followed. In 1973, a family claimed they saw a Skunk Ape chase their child off a tricycle. The next year, another family claimed that they hit one with their car – and they had hairs in the fender to prove it. A whole tour bus full of people claimed they saw a Swamp Sasquatch in 1997. They described it as “a seven-foot, red-haired ape” running through the Everglades. There were 30 or 40 people in all, every one of them telling the same story. And that same year, a woman saw a Skunk Ape jump in front of their car. “It was shaggy-looking and very tall, maybe six-and-a-half or seven feet tall,” she says. “The thing just jumped in front of my car.” A Native Tradition. Lonny Paul/Flickr A statue of the Skunk Ape outside of an Everglades campground. The stories of the Skunk Ape go back much further than the 20th century. The Muscogee and Seminole tribes that lived in the Everglade forest before European settlers arrived claim they’ve been seeing Skunk Apes in the woods for hundreds of years. They called it “esti capcaki”, or the “tall man.” He is the protector of the woods, they say, and he keeps away those who would damage the forests. Even when you don’t see the Florida Skunk Ape, they believe, he watches you, forever vigilantly gazing over those who enter his domain and using his mystic powers to vanish into thin air. Skunk Apes Caught On Camera. The photograph taken by that family that supposedly saw a Swamp Sasquatch on their back deck in 2000 is by far the best-known image of the creature. But it’s far from the only one. There are countless photos and videos allegedly depicting Skunk Apes on the internet, including one taken by Dave Shealy himself. Shealy, in fact, has a whole facility full of Skunk Ape evidence, including a cast of a four-toe footprint from the creature, which he claims was left right next to his hunting camp. His video, though, is his ultimate proof. He filmed it in the year 2000 and claims that it shows the Skunk Ape wandering through the swamp, moving at speeds that would be impossible for any human being to achieve. A Practical Explanation. Wolf Gordon Clifton/Animal People, Inc./Flickr Footprints allegedly left by the Florida Skunk Ape. As far as Shealy’s concerned, his video proves the existence of the Skunk Ape beyond a shadow of a doubt. But it hasn’t fully convinced everybody. The Smithsonian, after seeing the video, said: “It’s extremely hard to watch this video and see anything but a guy in a gorilla suit.” Still, for Shealy and the faithful, there’s no question that the Skunk Ape is real. For most of the scientific community, however, there a few questions. The National Park Service has called Shealy’s Skunk Ape evidence “extremely weak,” while the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry has said: “It’s almost entirely eyewitness testimony, which is the most unreliable evidence you can have.” People who believe in the Florida Skunk Ape, one common supposition goes, believe it simply because they want to believe it. Studies have shown that people who believe in paranormal creatures like this one are more likely to engage in “magical thinking” and less likely to internally reflect on what they’ve seen. Dave Shealy: The Center Of A Legend. Michael Lusk/Flickr Dave Shealy (left) holding up the concrete footprint cast he claims came from the Florida Skunk Ape. 2013. Shealy himself, though, doesn’t quite fit the bill of your usual conspiracy theorists. He openly jokes about some of the people who come to see him and the things they believe, like the belief that only those who have been abducted by aliens can see Sasquatch. Nevertheless, Shealy does seem to be at the center of the whole Skunk Ape story. Several Skunk Ape hunters have cited him as a direct influence, and while some Native American tribes have claimed that the Skunk Ape is part of an older tradition, their stories are quite a bit different from the modern stories of big, smelly apes terrorizing people’s backyards. So why is Shealy so obsessed with the Florida Skunk Ape? We may never know for sure, but perhaps he genuinely and truly believes that Skunk Apes are real, or perhaps – as many of the people who’ve interviewed him have very strongly implied – he’s just out to sell a few trinkets at his gift shop. More than a few things Shealy has said seem to support the idea that he’s just having a laugh. When Atlas Obscura asked why he spent so much time looking for Skunk Apes, Shealy told them: “There’s not much to do around here. … It’s just something that’s interesting, it never gets boring. I’ve fished and hunted all my life. I’m fished and hunted out.” But in the end, it’s a matter faith. We’ll leave it to you to decide whether the whole thing’s a mass delusion, spurred on by one man out for a laugh, or whether there really are six-and-a-half-foot tall apes wandering through Florida, just waiting to be discovered. After this look at the Florida Skunk Ape, learn more about the legendary Bigfoot and the other cryptids some insist roam the wilderness. If Streets Could Talk What Would They Say? by Mr. Skunk Ape. From and To can't be the same language. That page is already in . Something went wrong. Check the webpage URL and try again. Sorry, that page did not respond in a timely manner. 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