Skunk Sightings Reportedly On The Rise In Chicago

Skunks In The City: Smelly Encounters On The Rise

Notice a different scent in the air lately? No, we're not talking about that crispy, autumn air -- rather, skunk sightings are reportedly on the rise in Chicago, following the mammal's recent statewide population surge.

Chicago Wildlife News reports that the state's skunk population increased 46 percent in 2010 -- the eighth annual increase during the last ten years. In the Chicago area, ABC Humane Wildlife Control & Prevention has been busy with requests to remove skunks from various properties. They've reportedly captured 687 skunks so far this year, up from 426 skunks at the same point last year, an increase of just over 60 percent.

According to a wildlife biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the skunks' population increase over the last decade is due to their continued recovery from a rabies outbreak that struck in the early '80s, according to Chicago Wildlife News.

A number of Chicago suburbs have taken particular note of the often smelly critters. In Oak Forest, one resident said his dog has been sprayed by a skunk five times. Another resident noted that a family of skunks had begun living under his shed.

In Joliet, residents came to a City Council meeting in September, complaining that the number of skunks in the area had reached "epidemic proportions," according to the Peoria Journal Star.

In Northbrook, too, this year's so-called "skunk season" -- September through early November -- was also expected to be pretty busy.

Photo by donjd2 via Flickr.

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