A close encounter with skunks

I was returning to the barn from the back field this evening when I spotted a pair of skunks in the field to the south of the barn. I quickly rushed to the truck to get my camera and headed for the south field. When I got within 20 yards of the skunks I could see it was a mother with a younger skunk and they were looking for food as they headed in my direction. I stopped and waited for the skunks to come closer. The younger skunk stopped to feed on something and the mother continued in my direction. The mother skunk in the following photo walked within two feet of me as it continued looking for food.



After the mother passed by the younger skunk was still busy working on his catch. I walked closer to the young skunk but when I got within 10 feet I could see him take a more defensive position. I held my distance but saw the skunk react each time the camera flash fired. After a couple of pictures I moved back to the location of my close encounter with the mother skunk and waited to see where the younger skunk would head. To my surprise the young skunk would sniff the ground and took the exact same path as the mother had taken. The young skunk was only a couple of feet away when the following photo was taken.


After the second skunk walked by I decided to see if I could get some more photos by getting ahead of him and waiting at a spot I had last seen the mother skunk. My plan worked, too good in fact. I had stood in the exact path the mother had taken and the young skunk had followed the tracks and stopped within 3 inches of my shoes. I was close enough to hear the skunk sniffing my shoes. I was going to take a picture of the skunk next to my feet but then remembered how the camera flash would make him jump each time it went off. It would have been a great picture but I didn't want to pay the price if I spooked the little guy.

I returned to the truck and spotted a third skunk but didn't want to press my luck.