It is with great pleasure and great sadness that I announce the retirement of one of Interllectual’s dearest friends.

The spotted skunk is officially removed from the list of animals I want to see in their natural habitat, because I saw one this morning. Which means that if I’m going to keep following my own rules, the spotted skunk theme for this site will have to go. This is a bit of a bummer, since he has been the favorite of many. And also because he is one of the two themes I actually made for this recent incarnation of the site. So, to give him good sendoff and to give me some time to get another theme ready, I have switched the default theme from Okapi to Spotted Skunk for about a week or so. If the change didn’t work for you, you can reset the cookie by choosing the skunk over on the themes page.

Spotted skunk in the trap

Releasing the skunk

As for what will replace the skunk, I’m not yet sure. The most likely candidate, the ringtail, is also out of the running, because I saw one of them this morning, too. It has been one of the best 24 hours in the field I have ever had, and I’m glad I decided to go meet up with Brian and his class on the spur of the moment. I joked with him that to get me to go he would have to deliver a spotted skunk and a ringtail. I’ll be damned if he didn’t comply. I have tried to see these two critters for at least 5 years, and kept missing them. It was worth the wait though. We got great looks at them and some great footage, of which the photos of mine that I’m showing here are the worst. There is video and some better pics that I’ll have my hands on soon.

Me and the ringtail

Ringtail in the trap