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Subject: Large black and white creature From: Heavynova posted Thu, Mar 20 2003, 12:57pm  I know i've posted twice today, but like iv'e said, i'm finally posting these sightings. Here's another one.I was riding the bus to school and i looked out the window because i was bored. I was looking towards a small pond when i saw the animal scurrying through the bushes.It was about the size of a badger.It had a bushy white tail that dragged along the ground, and a thick white stripe down its back on an otherwise black furred body. I didn't see it's face, just it's hindquarters, but i dont know of any animal that fits this description in Illinois. If anyone knows anything, please email me. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Prof00 posted Thu, Mar 20 2003, 3:05pm  Sounds like a skunk to me. Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Gerry Bacon posted Thu, Mar 20 2003, 4:37pm  Definitely a skunk. Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: (profile name not found) posted Thu, Mar 20 2003, 8:08pm  Either that, or an oop ratel. LOL! Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Heavynova posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 8:17am  a skunk the size of a badger? (im not being sarcastic) i just didn't know they get that big. I'm open for any explanation, even if it's a common animal, just so i get some input on the strange things i see :) thanks guys! Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Prof00 posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 8:47am  I don't mean this to offend the person reporting the sighting, but I for one don't think the animal was the size of a badger. Although fairly vague, the description screams skunk with the white-stripe on black fur with big fluffy tail. Size exaggeration is a common thing with many surprise wild animal sightings. And size is even tougher to judge on an animal when you're driving past it in a school bus. Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Prof00 posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 12:59pm  And just for note, I have heard many times of skunks getting up to 20 pounds, but I have never personally seen one. I feel any skunk getting that big is an obese pet skunk or just a REALLY big one. And as another interesting note, there are some researchers that believe skunks may have a mildly venomous bite. This is based off of people getting bitten on the hand and suffering mild swelling and pain similar to the bite of some venomous animals. Subject: Re: sizing up this sighting... From: finbar posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 1:55pm  iirc, skunks and badgers are "close" in size, so it's not inconceiveable that, when seen quickly, a skunk might appear as large as a badger. now if he said it looked as large as a elk... fin - on badgers, skunks and such Subject: Re: sizing up this sighting... From: Gerry Bacon posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 3:43pm  I'm trying to remember but I was always under the impression that badgers weren't all that big, just mean. And well furred skunk can appear larger than they actually are. So I agree, the size issue is not that big a deal. As for skunks being venemous, I haven't heard that. Since they are omnivorous and have quite a reputation for indulging themselves at the local dumpsters and private garbage cans, could it be that the reactions from bites are simply infection from a garbaged out mouth? Subject: Re: sizing up this sighting... From: (profile name not found) posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 6:22pm  I agree. Striped skunks weigh somewhere between maybe 7 and 15 lbs (cat-size), but they look bigger because they're so fluffy. American badgers (European badgers are bigger) weigh maybe 15 to 25 lbs, so a big male skunk is about the same size as a small female badger. Gotta be a skunk. Reckon your idea about a skunk's infectious bite is on the money. Sounds good to me, anyway. Subject: Re: sizing up this sighting... From: Sam Whatley posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 9:06pm  What you described sounded like a badger. Badgers are kind of like skunks aren't they? I'm propably wrong. Subject: Re: sizing up this sighting... From: DarkWolf posted Fri, Mar 21 2003, 9:23pm  Never heard about the venomous bite on a skunk...makes a lot of sense though. I used to have a pit bull who would take on anything that entered the yard, he jumped on a skunk one night..he won of course but I noticed everywhere he got bit was overly swollen and got really infected, more so than his scraps with possums (yep, I'm southern,we skip the O , lol) ,racoons or what have you. After a bath in tomato sauce and a while to heal he was ok though...man did he stink!! Subject: Skunk vs badger From: Gerry Bacon posted Sat, Mar 22 2003, 5:17am  Sam, I'm not sure about the technical stuff, such as genera etc. But badgers and skunks look nothing alike. It would be nearly impossible to mistake one for the other. For one thing, badgers are more of a grayish color. I think they are squattier (is that a word?) than skunks although I guess they are a little larger. Subject: Re: Skunk vs badger From: Megaraptor posted Sat, Mar 22 2003, 10:27am  Both Badgers and Skunks are in the family Mustelidae. Subject: Re: sizing up this sighting... From: TigerTom posted Sat, Mar 22 2003, 4:28pm  In the veterinary field, there is term called a Cat Bite Abscess. This baby is quite virulent and is loaded with Pasteurella bacteria and other various nasties. It is also harder to clean the bite wound properly due to the small, very sharp teeth felines possess. I would imagine that a skunk's mouth would harbor virulent bacterias as their dental profiles are likely similar. There has been much study as of late on the Komodo Dragon to determine the potency of the bacteria in their mouths. Science is very interested in this as the Dragons apparently produce antibodies to prevent them from getting sick from ingestion of food and bites suffered from each other Subject: Re: sizing up this sighting... From: finbar posted Sat, Mar 22 2003, 5:15pm  > I would imagine that a skunk's mouth would harbor virulent > bacterias as their dental profiles are likely similar... can't speak for bacterial content, but mustelids have tiny sharp teeth that can easily bite to the bone. ferrets and polecats can easily kill rabbits with a bite to the neck, severing the spinal cord. they can also do a nasty number on one's finger too. also, mustelids are known for poor dental hygiene... fin - a.k.a. lefty Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Magpye posted Tue, Jun 3 2003, 6:23pm  Did you know there are several species of skunk in North America? The one everyone thinks of when they think 'skunk' is like the skunk 'Flower' in the movie. 'Flower' was a 1. Striped Skunk, which has two white stripes that run the length of the back. But there are three other skunk species. 2. The Hognosed Skunk is about 2 and a half feet long, maybe a third of that is a huge fluffy tail. The Hognosed Skunk is black with a single broad white stripe down the back and a mostly white tail. It's called Hognosed because the nose is a broad leather pad. It roots in dirt like a hog too. 3. The Hooded Skunk, also two and a half feet long and also with a broad white stripe down the back. It has sort of a ruff of fur around the neck that sort of looks like it is wearing a hood. http://www.enature.com/guides/show_species_fg.asp?recNum=MA0200 4. The Spotted Skunk that doesn't look like what you saw. It is black with long spots all over it's body and a black & white tail. Skunks normally only run around at night so they are often totally not seen by people who live in an area. I'd bet you saw hog or hooded skunk. Also, since Striped Skunks are now kept as pets, and as pets they get pretty danged HUGE you may have even seen a released pet skunk. True, Hog and Hooded skunks are found in the southwest, normally, but with global warming, many warm climate animals are migrating south. They are now routinely finding Armadillos in Nebraska! Armadillos are only supposed to be in Texas, Florida and other warm climate places. Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: The Gutter Master posted Thu, Jul 3 2003, 2:38pm  It's a freakin' skunk, not rocket science buddy. Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Heavynova posted Thu, Mar 20 2008, 2:46pm  Heh, 5 years later and I come back to prove you wrong, dick. It turned out to be an escaped Honey Badger that got away from a private animal collector. Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Magpye posted Thu, Jul 3 2003, 2:54pm  Of course it's a skunk you Neanderthal nitwit. Did you read the confused email that my reply responded to, or can are rude comments the way you entertain your tiny little brain? On second thought. Don't bother answering. I mean, unless you are really desperate for entertainment. : ) Subject: Re: Large black and white creature From: Cthulhu posted Thu, Jul 3 2003, 3:35pm  Hey! Don't insult Neanderthals!

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