Max Allen, a project associated biologist, recently published a natural history paper about an encounter he recorded between a spotted skunk and a female puma in Mendocino county. For anyone who is frightened of pumas, this video features a spotted skunk chasing and harassing a puma off a deer carcass. Now, a spotted skunk only weighs about 1-2 lbs, and here it is scaring off and intimidating an adult puma who probably weighs 80-90 lbs! This just goes to show that attitude can take you a long way in nature! Of course, just because the skunk got away with it this time doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for you to go into the woods and try to steal a puma’s dinner…
Check out Max’s paper for free at http://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1410.