Wild animals downtown in the City?

[whm1974]

One of the case managers of the program that handles my housing mentioned that she saw a Groundhog under the bench by the side of the Office building a few years ago, and I find this to be strange that such a wild animal would be downtown...

Now I have encountered raccoons and skunks before where I used to work, but that wasn't downtown. Speaking of skunks, one time on my way to where I used to work, I crossed the railroad tracks almost there, I called out "here kitty kitty" to what I thought was a cat until the creature came close enough for me to see the white stripe.

Is it true that if sprayed by a skunk, that would need large amounts of tomato juice to wash the smell off my body and clothes?

 

[ridgerunner1965]

i work in town and there is a groundhog that lives under a storage shed about 75 yrds from my shop, he has sum rabbit freinds too.

actually groundhogs love living in town. there are no coyotes or bobcats to eat them

 

[ridgerunner1965]

umm skunk is like a oil. any solvent will take it off. when i used to trap and skin skunks i would use gasoline to wash my hands and tools

 

[Patocazador]

Baking soda and peroxide works on my dog when she gets sprayed.

 

[jmorris]

They live where they can. I have seen coyotes and deer all over the place and lots of other stuff. It wasn’t a city before people started moving in.

 

[buck460XVR]

Coyotes in my town know what day of the week garbage day is. Large lake in the middle of town is home to hundreds of wild geese. Coupla winters ago wolves took down a deer on the ice on the same lake. Eagles take fish from that same lake in the summer and clean up dead minnows off the ice in winter. Every year there is at least one deer hit by autos downtown on main street. Animals go where the food is and in many cases that is where man is.

 

[whm1974]

Baking soda and peroxide works on my dog when she gets sprayed.

Thanks. How many times has your dog has been sprayed by skunks? Has to be a fairly dumb dog not to learn the first time not to mess with skunks.

 

[Grumulkin]

Is it true that if sprayed by a skunk, that would need large amounts of tomato juice to wash the smell off my body and clothes?

I have no personal experience with being sprayed by a skunk but a friend's dog was sprayed. He applied Coca Cola to the dog, let it dry, washed it off and, according to him, the dog no longer stunk.

 

[George P]

I had a dog get skunked twice - within a week; probably the same skunk too in an empty field in town across from the houses.....Was a long time ago and I do not know what I used, but something like vinegar solution IIRC

 

[whm1974]

I have no personal experience with being sprayed by a skunk but a friend's dog was sprayed. He applied Coca Cola to the dog, let it dry, washed it off and, according to him, the dog no longer stunk.

Doesn't Coca Cola also clean the rust of car battery terminals? Well that is what I heard, but I actually never seen anyone do that.

 

[Bwana John]

Dish detergent, hydrogen peroxide, activated charcol, and baking soda for a skunk

 

[Random 8]

Some animals are extremely adaptable. Deer, foxes, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels and others can live with a very small amount of greenspace scattered about. Some, such as raccoons, opossums, flying squirrels, and falcons have taken up residence in fullblown concrete jungle. I've seen many raccoons and opossums while televising sewer systems downtown.

Skunk spray is best cleaned with a weak acid such as lemon juice, vinegar, borax, followed by a deodorizer such as alum or baking soda water. Geranium based natural pet shampoo works well (on people too) after the acid wash also.

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

Im not sure, which would be worse, dog vs. skunk or Dog vs porcupine. Once had an american bulldog bite a porcupine, he had quills so far down his throat we had to roll him up in big piece of carpet to hold him still while spent hours pulling over a hundred quills. Eventually had to gas him with ether to get the deepest ones.

 

[Monac]

I live in a densely urban area. We get rabbits and opossums. We used to get raccoons and skunks, but I have not seen them lately. In a year when we had a LOT of rabbits, I saw a small grey fox or two. Once I saw a deer that probably followed some old railroad tracks that are now a bicycle trail. Strangely, if we have rats, I never see them, even though I am sometimes out very late (or very early, depending on your point of view.) I have not see a beaver, or a woodchuck/groundhog (I'm not sure I could tell them apart).

My father talked about tomato juice for skunk spray, but I don't think he was sure about it either, and his experience with skunks was mainly in the 1930's. Random 8's suggestions are probably much better.

 

[Grumulkin]

Doesn't Coca Cola also clean the rust of car battery terminals? Well that is what I heard, but I actually never seen anyone do that.

I could believe it does. Legend has it that if you put a penny in Coca Cola it will dissolve. I don't drink Coca Cola and I doubt my wife would like a penny disolved in hers so I haven't tried that either.

 

[George P]

I could believe it does. Legend has it that if you put a penny in Coca Cola it will dissolve. I don't drink Coca Cola and I doubt my wife would like a penny disolved in hers so I haven't tried that either.

Also does a good job of cleaning stains like hard water in toilets and showers; imagine what that acid does to your teeth; to keep it gun related, I bet it would eat the bluing rather easily

 

[FL-NC]

It is pretty common to see coons and possums in the city, at least everywhere I have lived. I have seen a skunk in downtown Crestview, Fl. In Southern Pines, NC deer will venture into downtown in the evening- there are golf courses nearby where they usually hang out.

 

[jmorris]

My Mother didn’t move into the city until she was 14 and she swore she wouldn’t live on a farm again. Many decades later They built a house on land her Uncle farmed but was being developed. For a few years My Father would send me photos like this one.



but the HOA brought people in to get them because too many people pets were falling prey to them. Now they have such a rabbit problem, if you plant flowers, they are gone almost instantly.

 

[whm1974]

My Mother didn’t move into the city until she was 14 and she swore she wouldn’t live on a farm again. Many decades later They built a house on land her Uncle farmed but was being developed. For a few years My Father would send me photos like this one.

View attachment 927762

but the HOA brought people in to get them because too many people pets were falling prey to them. Now they have such a rabbit problem, if you plant flowers, they are gone almost instantly.

Bobcats? How likely are those wild animals to attack people?

 

[GEM]

We live in a small town outside a big town. We have geese, possums, fox, deer, racoons, hawks, owls, coyotes and a bear that wander around. Voles and mice, too.

In Texas, I could add wild hogs, delete bears, add a possible mountain lion within 12 miles. Add armadillos. Various snakes, huge spiders, scorpions.

 

[jmorris]

Bobcats? How likely are those wild animals to attack people?

I would say far less than dogs, even domesticated. They tend to avoid people if they can.

 

[GEM]

Fun thing I saw. Opened the garage door. Two doves flew by at speed about 4 feet off the ground. In back of them was a hawk. It grabbed one door and did a straight vertical climb at speed. The other kept going. There were feathers on the driveway. Every once in awhile you would find a pile of feather in the yard. Another dove was taken out.

Weirdest thing was a hailstorm from Hell (massive damage) and finding poor little birds shot out of the sky, littering the yard. Had to bury them.

The other day, there was a turtle on the drive way. Picked it up with shovel and carried it across the street to a wet area.

I forgot turkeys. Here and in TX. A few weeks ago, I was driving along a creek. There were houses on the side of the creek. The mail truck was putting mail in boxes. Two turkeys took offense and were attacking the truck's front tire.

Had two couples of geese get into a fight across the street a few weeks ago.

 

[Speedo66]

Central Park in Manhattan had a family of coyotes for a while, and is home to falcons that build nests high on skyscrapers.

Plenty of pigeons for them to feast on.

 

[GEM]

Florida is having a macaque monkey problem. Where my mom used to live I saw a big old snapping turtle in one of her development's ponds. There were alligators every once in awhile.

In Beaverton, Oregon - I saw a big old otter swimming through a fast moving creek in the city.