Chicago-Area Skunk Population Raises A Stink : NPR
Brancato says skunk populations can grow large because they don’t really have any natural predators.
“Their population numbers are only controlled by highways, you know, by cars,” he says. “So they do pretty well because they don’t really move a lot.”
It’s difficult to get a real count on the number of skunks in the state, says Illinois Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Bob Bluett. But the department makes a best guess by counting roadkill.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase,” Bluett says. He adds that there was a 46 percent increase in the number of skunks from 2009 to 2010.
Companies licensed by the department to capture skunks snared 8,700 of them across the state last year, most in the Chicago area. Bluett isn’t certain why the numbers are up, but skunks in the Midwest are prone to rabies, and there hasn’t been an outbreak to lessen their numbers for more than 25 years.
Even so, any skunk captured in Illinois is euthanized. And because skunk numbers are up, there’s more chance of a household pet tangling with one outside.
.phone.jpg)
