It’s common knowledge that the worst thing a skunk can do to you is spray you, but a hiker in Georgia recently discovered another way skunks can ruin your day—by breaking into your tent and trying to eat all of your stuff.
The man was hiking the Appalachian Trail when a sudden snowstorm forced him to pitch his tent. He went to bed but was woken at around 1:00 a.m. by a skunk who had discovered the cosy little shelter and decided to get in on it. The skunk entered the tent and quickly became intrigued by the man’s backpack, and before long, he was singularly focused on trying to weasel (skunk?) his way into the bag.
The hiker captured his exchange with the animal on video, and clearly, the skunk’s determination to get into the pack blinded it to all else. He remains completely unperturbed as the man is heard shouting, “Get outta here, skunk!”
In a caption for the video, the hiker wrote, “He tried to get in my backpack, then he tried to drag it away after I kept shooing him off. He bit me later and I just got my last rabies shot today!”
Perhaps the most surprising part of the encounter is the fact that the skunk seemed completely unintimidated by the camper and didn’t even bother to lift his tail at the shouting. Apparently, it simply didn’t see the man as much of a threat (which is probably a blessing).
The moral of the story? Always keep your tent tightly sealed if you don’t want any unexpected visitors. Oh, and keep your rabies shot up to date.
