North Vancouver neighbours rally to save skunk with plastic lid stuck around its neck
When Bryan and Mira O’Connor first saw a video from the woods near their North Vancouver home of a skunk with a plastic dome lid wrapped tightly around its neck, they knew they had to do something.
“It was so thin and moving so much slower than the other skunks I’ve seen in the neighborhood, and I was really concerned,” said Bryan O’Connor.
“From that moment on, my husband, myself and our neighbours were trying to see if we could catch this skunk and get this plastic off of it,” said Mira. “It was really heart wrenching. I often thought, 'I can’t go to bed with this poor skunk wandering around.'”
For the next month, they tried catching the skunk by tossing a wet blanket over it and by setting a live trap, which only managed to snag a large raccoon.
“The whole big raccoon family around was very upset. They were waiting for him to come out. Of course we released him right away. At that point, we realized we really needed some help,” said Mira.
They enlisted the help of the Critter Care Wildlife Rescue Society. Last week, volunteer Cathy Kenning was dispatched and managed to snag the emaciated skunk with a large net, nearly a month after it was first spotted behind the Safeway in Lynn Valley.
“(It's a) huge relief,” said Bryan. “Cathy is a professional and she knows exactly how to contain the skunk so we don’t get sprayed, and none of us got sprayed. There was just the tiniest scent in the air, but it’s nothing knowing you’re helping save a creature's life.”
Kenning immediately cut the lid off the skunk’s neck.
“I could see right away it was pretty bad wound that went right (around) the whole neck and front leg area,” she said.
The volunteer drove the injured skunk to Critter Care in Langley, which sees cases of wild animals with plastic wrapped around their necks at least a dozen times a year.
The design of the clear plastic domed lids is especially dangerous for skunks, who have poor eyesight and rely on their sense of smell. The animals stick their heads inside the cups and the lids pop off and remain around their necks, digging into their bodies and leaving deep wounds.
The O’Connors would like to see the lids redesigned to be safer for urban wildlife.
“We need to either make these dome lids paper or maybe perforated. But for right now, the best thing to do if you have a cup and one of these lids is separate them,” said Mira.
She’s relieved the skunk they rescued, who’s been named Cupcake by staff at Critter Care, is expected to make a full recovery. The animal will be returned to the woods in three to four weeks, and the O’Connors wouldn’t miss it.
“We are all waiting. Cathy will bring it and we’re all going to have a release day,” said Mira.
“I’m definitely going to be there for the release,” said Bryan. “I want to see her rejoin with her family.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Rainfall warnings of up to 80 mm among weather alerts in effect for 6 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres and other alerts have been issued for six Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.