It's 3:00 a.m. and- What Was That?

I am fully awake now and cannot go back to sleep. Woke up to his god-awful noise, like some small animal was being tortured. The noise was disturbing. I flew out of bed, grabbed the flashlight, turned on the flood lights and looked outside. It was deathly quiet. Doing a cat count, saw all the inside/outside cats were accounted for, so headed out into our property to look around. I saw nothing, but smelled skunk really strong. I looked everywhere and again saw nothing.

The only thing I can figure, and I may be off-base here as I am not up of skunk wisdom, but mom skunk must of either found either a nest of baby mice, or she got a nest of baby birds or something? But the noise was hideous and is playing over and over in my head and now I can't sleep and skunk smell is everywhere outside. I just wish I knew what that sound was?

...could it be that skunk found that racoon that was hanging around before, or vice a versa?

I hate when i hear those weird noises at night!

Did ya ever figure out what the sound was?

I've heard a baby rabbit scream as it was attacked. It was the most horrific sound. Perhaps that's what happened.

Also, if you have foxes up there, they sound really scary too. We had one who lived near us when we lived in the woods. We called it our screaming banshee because of the scary sound it made.

Could it have been an owl of some sort? Screech owls make pretty scary noises.

Nothing like a terrible sound to wake you up. Turns the blood to pure adrenaline.

Just a thought, MA: If the Mama skunk had attacked something, she wouldn't have "expressed" herself. She likely was defending. Hope those little stinkers are ok!

I have been in touch with a skunk expert and here is her scenario. Coon got to the skunk babies, mom defended her babies, babies lost, coon lost and mom is now babyless. I hope this expert is incorrect.

I hope not too . Racoons are herbavores & carnivores right? Are skunks the same way?

Oh, I hope that didn't happen!!!

skunks eat small rodents, moles, gophers, mice, baby birds, they also eat yellow jackets, wasps, mosquitos, cockroaches, beetles, ants, termites, and other insects.

I just keep hearing that sound over and over in my head it was dreadful.

Sorry Hissy. Lay your ear against a purring tummy, that might help.

what a great idea!