What began as a simple attempt at a tasty snack from a jar turned into a rescue mission for a Thunder Bay skunk.
On Monday morning, Thunder Bay local, Jack Lamers, was informed by his wife of a skunk with its head stuck inside a glass jar.
Lamers risked a very stinky situation to help the skunk in need by helping remove the glass jar by pinning it down to the ground with a garden hoe, which allowed the animal to extricate itself from the container.
Luckily, Lamers completed the brave deed and avoided getting sprayed.
"He pulled his head out, looked left, looked right, looked up. We locked eyes, because I still had the jar pinned down. And I ran. He ran around somebody's shed and sprayed there. You could smell it a few minutes later when the wind took it," Lamers said.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, while you might want to assist the animal yourself, it may be safer for you (and for the animal) to leave the hard work up to the professionals.
In any situation where you see an animal in distress with something stuck on his or her head, you can call your local wildlife rescue centre for advice and assistance on what to do.
However, there are some easy steps the public can take to prevent situations like this from happening again.
What else can you do to prevent hazards like this to wildlife?
- Place all garbage and recyclables in a wildlife-proof container
- Always pick up litter when you see it and put it in a closed container
- Reuse containers instead of recycling them or throwing them away
- Rinse out tasty-smelling residue
