New Canaan has seen a relatively quiet skunk season this summer, officials say, after the mammals appeared earlier than usual in the winter.
Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said she started seeing skunks in March when it was unusually cold “so a lot of them got killed off before the breeding season.”
At about 7:50 a.m. Sunday, police put down an injured skunk that a resident spotted in a Beech Road backyard. It was injured as though it had been hit by a car, Kleinschmitt said.
Had the animal been in direct contact with a human or domestic pet, police would have sent its carcass to a state lab for rabies testing—but that’s a very rare thing, Kleinschmitt said.
“Most animals want to stay away from skunks,” she said. “No healthy animal will go anywhere near a skunk, because they don’t want to get sprayed. The only ones who seem to tangle with a skunk sometimes are dogs.”