Thursday, August 8, 1996

Sweetwater smelling sour thanks to unwanted visitors

By Associated Press

SWEETWATER (AP) - Pepe LePew would love this place.

The amorous cartoon skunk that always seemed attracted to unfortunate female polecats could find plenty of belles from his own species in this West Texas city.

The nocturnal animals with the fetid defense mechanism are causing some sour air in Sweetwater.

"I don't get out at night anymore," said Emma Acuna, who shares her street with many of the bushy-tailed varmints. "They really scare me."

The city's animal control officer blames the problem on new home construction near a creek that has disturbed the animals' natural dens.

"So they are out looking for a new den, and scavenging for food," said Tommy Wood, who was featured in the Reporter-News recently when he spoke with columnist Ken Ellsworth by cellular phone while chasing one of the striped critters.

Wood warns residents not to excite the creatures, which causes them to let go with their signature scent, sometimes so strong it soaks into clothing. Like any wild animal, skunks also can carry rabies.

Jo Ann Henson said her husband, Bill, had a close call with a skunk that appears to have grown accustomed to its new, more urban surroundings.

"Bill said it walked right under his truck, and acted as though (people) were not there," she said. "It showed no fear."

Wood's solution is a plastic trap with a door in one end that he places near houses that are doubling as skunk dens.

"I set it at the entry under the house and build a little fence around the trap so that the skunk has to go inside it," he said.

Unfortunately for residents like Ms. Acuna, the untrapped skunks seem to be adapting to suburban life - and multiplying.

"If you go out around 10 p.m., you can usually see them, sometimes three or four in a group," she said. "Sometimes we see little ones."