Brave or foolish?

While it is common knowledge that nocturnal animals that are out in the daylight are normally rabid, it is very likely that because of the fact that the skunk had a cup stuck on its head it couldn't tell day time from night. Skunks are shy, and will give warning before they spray. The warning is by stamping their feet, and around here they are more apt to jump up and down than spary. Also, the man had a better chance to not get attacked because of the fact that the skunk had to adjust from the dimness of the cup to the bright sunlight, so it would take a few minutes to realize that it might want to attack. I would be apt to run in and rescue an animal that is in trouble. I've done it before, and won't hesitate to do it again. I am reminded of a happening from quite a few years ago. I shop at Goodwill a LOT and they have an outlet store in the big town that is about 30 miles from where I live. I always went through the stuffed animals they would have in a bin that reminded me of a crib. I was busily digging through when my hand touched something warm and stickey! Of course I was curious so I started flinging aside the soft stuffed toys...then I found the source of the warmth and stickiness. It was a possum that had crawled in amoung the toys because it was soft, warm and dark. I went to the cashier and told her that there was a possum in the toys. She told me how much it would be, and I had a heck of a time conviencing her that it was real. Of course when every one heard that it was live and real they rushed to see the poor animal. It scared the poor thing and it started snarling and baring its teeth. One of the workers went into the back room and got a trash can and a pair of gloves and shooed it into the can and took it out back and released it to go back into the wild. The next time I went to the store the "crib" had been changed so that it had sides to keep the wild life out of it. If you look at it in another way, we as humans have intruded in the wild life's territory. We expect that the animals will change their lives for us. We dump our trash and leave our stuff out where the animals can get into trouble...and many die from it unless there are the heros who are willing to stop their vehicles and help the unfortunate victims of our carelessness. To this day, I make sure that any garbage that might harm an animal is closed up in the garage and out of the reach of the animals that frequent my yard. My nightly visitors include skunks, raccoons, bats, bob cats, mountain lions, possums, tree squirrels, badgers, rabbits, deer, coyotes, kit foxes, foxes, and even big horned sheep. I love the area I live in, and consider myself a caretaker of the area and the animals that visit...So, yes I would step in and do my best to help one that is in trouble.

we had a cow here 2 towns over that got a 55 gallon drum stuck on it's head and was wandering in and out of traffic. um..i haven't lately..the only rescue i've been involved in lately is caring for this poor blind squirrel i discovered living under my hedge.he seemed to be starving because he can't hunt,so we've been feeding him.there's really no predators in this area,so he's quite safe.

My hubby would have rescued him, and not run. He did so twice as a young person. He helped trap a skunk that was in an atrium in the preschool where I worked. He has also picked a baby possum out of our cherry tree. He is a big softy and an animal lover.

Aww--I kind of think skunks are cute...LOL Yup--Way back in the days when my mother and I went to DisneyWorld we often stayed at the Polynesian Village Resort ...crawling around on the grounds would be these rather small chameleon lizards. Well one day my mother and I were on the beach area and out of the corner of my eye I see slight movement. Lizard eggs must have just hatched and there were about twenty baby lizards crawling on the sand....and gasps...were heading out into the water! I thought OH NO--they'll drown...so I raced up and one by one scooped up each "baby" lizard in my hands and put them out of harms way and to safety I've also in my past rescued birds..cats..mmm...think I missed my calling???

Dealing with wild animals is always tricky, I might try to trap an animal until the proper help could come, but only if I felt I could do so safely. We do rescue of Llamas and sometimes we know nothing about them and they are abandoned we know these animals very well and can tell by their body language what they might do, but we always stay safe and take it very slowly. We would not be any good to the animals is we got hurt.

Years ago while holidaying in Italy we found some turtle doves in a dumpster. There were two of them and they didn’t look injured just frightened! We took them to a nearby vet who checked them over and gave us the okay to release them. I have no idea why someone placed them in the dumpster, the birds seemed very tame and happily flew away after a feed and some TLC!

Yes I was many years ago and ended sad I was on my Way to one of my Contracts and a truch run over a Dog, everyone was round the Truck, the driver was ok) but no one cared about the Dog who was lying on the Side of the road, I sat with the Dog stroking him tears running down my cheek ' I phoned the Vet, who came out to the Dog but the Dog never made it which really upset me, it also upset me that there was about ten People there, and they where all round the Driver of the Truck even though he was ok but no one cared about the Dog, till the Vet came

You are probably not old enough to remember that glass milk bottles used to have cardboard tabs to open them. I am that old. I have rescued 3 skunks that needed to be rescued, and never got squirted by them. I guess they just kind of knew that I was not going to hurt them. I saved one when I was just a kid, that had a milk bottle stuck on his head. I saved another one who had got his head stuck in a mayonnaise jar. The third one had managed to get himself cornered, outside, at the elementary school that my wife worked at. I got him to walk into a live trap that the parks department managed to get nearby. If something like this happened again, I would still do the very same thing, rescue it.

Good for him! Hopefully the skunk didn't spray him on purpose for being such a nice guy! I was playing in a vacant lot as a child a long time ago and my friend and I found a poor, starved goat tied to a tree at the back of someone's property. It was so emaciated it could hardly stand. We tied to free it, but it was tehered really tightly, so we called ANimal Rescue and they came and took it away. I have no idea what happened to the owner, but I hope that whoever it was got nailed for being so cruel. It breaks my heart when I see situations like these.

I think the man was a bit between the two but I would have done the same thing. Good thing we don't have skunks. The people over the road have goats and sheep in a paddock. Occasionally one of the goats will get his head stuck on the wrong side of the fence. They can wriggle their horns through but backing up is a different story. I get my friend and he brings his pliers and cuts the wire then tightens it up again once the goat is free. I used to call the owners but they would leave the goat there till they were good and ready to see to it and then they would be very rough, hurting the goat till it screamed. The sound of a goat screaming in pain is just pitiful.

yeah, but not a skunk oooo, but that made me think of a story I was told.....

I think the man was both brave and foolish. I have never been involved in saving a pet that wasn't mine or plain wild. Unless my kid picking up frogs from the street will I stand by is considering saving a an animal. makes me wonder now. Nah.

When I lived in Fair Oaks, I knew better than to approach a skunk. The ones you see in the day time are most likely rabid and if you a skunks comes near you at night it's usually rabid too. I used to hang out at Sailor Bar at night back when it was safe. Rangers would come and warn us when there were rabid skunks around. Along with a lecture to keep away from them. Other than that, they would tell us to move our cars outside of the gate so they could lock it at 10:00. Ohh memories of a simpler time. I hope the guy didn't get sprayed. It stinks for days.

I don't know if this qualifies but I'm always treating and saving baby animals. Just can't seem to pass them up. lol I've even taught my grandkids not to kill bugs...not that I have a great love of bugs...but I want them to value ALL life. The rule I taught them is: If it's not trying to hurt you or eat your food, leave it alone! lol That way they understand that they are allowed to protect themselves...but that the bug has a right to live as long as it's not being a PEST. I was out camping a long while ago...and went to the 'facilities' to pee late at night...inside were about ten skunks and it seemed they all looked up at me when I entered! I was frozen in my tracks, unable to move! lol Finally after one began moving towards me....I was able to back up through the door and RUN!back to the tent. Peed behind a bush nearby...with flashlight in hand, looking over my shoulder. ;)

I think that was good of him and I would have done exactly the same as I love all animals and would have hated to see it confused and getting hurt! I would too take the risk and try and get the cup off of the poor little guy! x

I would say he was a very caring person & brave to do that.

I saw something similar on an older news story recently. I wonder if it was the same one?? anyway, the skunk was probably confused because it was dark to him/her with the can stuck on its head. I'm sure that had alot to do with it still being out & about. I don't think I'd attempt to help a wild animal like that. It could be far more dangerous than I'd be willing to risk

Well I must say I think the man had the best of intentions and was being brave, but at the same time very foolish. If it were me I'd make sure I had a 100 foot pole to get the cup off the skunks had then drop it and run as fast as my slow legs will go ROFL. I did rescue a squirrel that fell out of it's nest in the tree one time, we nursed it back to health poor little guy had tiny bits of blood coming from it's nose but it survived and we let it go right under the tree, it climbed back up to the nest. We were very careful not to touch it because we didn't want the mom to kill or reject it. I tried to rescue a few baby birds that fell out of their nest, but they didn't survive :(

It would be either brave or foolish to predict trouble ahead for the Goverment on this matter...

Brave I say!Brave!He helped that skunk and came out a hero!I too hope he did not get sprayed,I read that if you do get sprayed the best thing to do is take a bath in tomatoes.Its not that cool!