Striped Skunk (201503) A trip to CEI for Swifties will guarantee an encounter with Flower

Each time we make the trip out to Cochrane Ecological Institute to see if we cna photo the Swift Foxes, we spend some time with "Flower". He is a very human friendly Striped Skunk. He hasn't been de-scented so when he gets to being a bother hanging around your feet you need to be careful about how enthusiatically you help him on his way:)  Here is Jamie with Flower on our very first visit.

So I thought I would throw in a few shots that I have captured, when he is not too close to photo.

Here he is grabbing a little drink of water. As Jamie  notes on his Flickr Page
Skunks are typically nocturnal but Flower seems to be up all day long.

While Flower is a fascinating subject in his own right, he can be quite distracting as you are trying to sit still and wait for a Swifty to appear.

But with enough patience and a few tricks, he can usually be convinced to leave you alone, and he is on his way.

It certainly is a treat to have this little fella available for photos as my encounters in the wild tend to be about once a year. And, the subjects are no where near as cooperative:)  Put some wild in your week!
Turbo