One Minute, 23 Seconds of Cute

"Baby skunk leg wiggle"

Amphibiansunrise, YouTube (May 28, 2009)
video, 1:23

"This baby skunk is one of a litter of three, and is now about three and a half weeks old. He has just been fed and is enjoying some grooming from 'mom' (who has had her pre-exposure rabies shots. Never handle wild animals unless you have been trained - even if they are adorable). Physical touch is beneficial when the babies are very young, but since this skunk will be released into the wild when he is older, it will soon be 'hands off' so that he doesn't become too tame or friendly towards people."

Looks like dogs aren't the only creatures that'll start 'scratching' with the rear leg, when the ribs are rubbed. I think my favorite moment is when the little skunk's tail is tucked up toward his nose, and he settles down - apparently for a snooze.

That's good sense, by the way, about rabies shots and handling wild animals. They can be very appealing - but they don't have the breeding and conditioning that domestic critters do.

I've heard of folks making (de-scented) skunks into pets, but I'm just as glad that this little fellow will be released.

There's a pretty good writeup on skunks on the Minnesota DNR website:

• "Skunks"
  MN Department of Natural Resources Home > Nature > Animals > Mammals