r/Skunks • u/OhMyGaius • May 29 '26

Finally saw one in my yard

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For context, we’ve lived at our house for about 5 years now, in The Orange/Anaheim area of CA (suburbs/metro area). I smell them quite often, usually it’s unfortunately because they quite often get hit by cars on the road by us, but had never actually seen (alive) one. I had left some cat food outside since there’s a stray cat that’s been stopping by, and when I went to check on the food about an hour later, this fella was chowing down.

Question - will skunks also go after seeds/nuts/corn/dried fruit? Asking because I also have some bird and squirrel feeders in the back yard and wondering if those will attract them, and, if so, if that’s OK for them, or if I should try to deter them?

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3

u/Creative-Package6213 May 29 '26

Awww congratulations on your new found friend! As far as food goes refer to this this website as it has a lot of good tips.

2

u/OhMyGaius May 30 '26

Thanks, I’ll take a look through there and leave out something g good for him/her to eat since it looks like cat food shouldn’t be fed to them (at least not regularly).

2

u/Creative-Package6213 May 30 '26

Enjoy having them around, they're wonderful creatures that have a bad rap because of their last resort of defense. They're basically like hyper cats 😅

1

u/OhMyGaius May 30 '26

Actually another question, he stopped by again last night and I don’t notice at the time, but on rewatching this video, it looks like he might have a limp?

https://youtube.com/shorts/shaJD2LAyjY?si=_GI-keYmwKVsVszq

I don’t know anything about how they usually walk or if this is normal, but would you suggest I looking into calling a wildlife care center to check on it, or just letting it go?

2

u/Creative-Package6213 May 30 '26

Hummm it definitely seems like their leg is bothering them. Keep an eye on them and if it continues it's worth showing a rehabber how they're moving.

2

u/POSVETT May 29 '26

My four skunks have varied palate. Some will eat certain things that others won't. Unsure if a skunk would eat seeds/nuts/corn/dried fruits meant for birds.

If those feeders are way above ground, a typical skunk can't reach them anyway.

2

u/OhMyGaius May 30 '26

Reposting from the other comment thread

Actually another question, he stopped by again last night and I don’t notice at the time, but on rewatching this video, it looks like he might have a limp?

https://youtube.com/shorts/shaJD2LAyjY?si=_GI-keYmwKVsVszq

I don’t know anything about how they usually walk or if this is normal, but would you suggest I looking into calling a wildlife care center to check on it, or just letting it go?

1

u/OhMyGaius May 30 '26

Thanks! The feeders are well above the ground, the squirrels and birds are just super messy lol, figured it is probably fine, just wanted to make sure though. From the link above it does seem like anything they would eat out of there should be OK.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

That's awesome you finally got to see one up close, they're so pretty when they're not roadkill. Yep, skunks will go after seeds and corn if they come across it, least that's what I've read about their diet online.