BY DANNY BLEVINS

STAR CORRESPONDENT

I live in an area surrounded by forest and the animals that call it their home. When night falls where I live, it gets dark, really dark.

A few years ago, I came home after dark and walked through my backyard toward our trash can. I have lived here for most of my life and I am used to the local wildlife.

I knew I might accidentally disturb a local raccoon, opossum or even deer in the dark.

I am not afraid of anything in my own yard. My biggest concern in the dark of night is that I might walk upon a black bear but I have learned that they are usually shy and will run off before I get to them.

As I walked, I noticed that there was something walking beside me. It was too dark to see what it was but in my mind, it looked like my five-year-old grandson who had a thick head of blond hair at the time.

As I walked, the mystery creature walked and I could not believe my eyes.

I thought to myself that I was losing my mind and that this couldn’t be my grandson and so I stopped. The “thing” kept walking and gradually I could see what I was walking beside.

It was a skunk with its tail turned to show the white part of it.

I remembered I screamed like a girl and ran for my life. My wife laughed so hard she cried and I know I will never live that down.

Skunks. Let’s be honest and admit they smell.

When they feel threatened, they will emit an odor from a gland at the base of their tail that would make a buzzard sick.

In reality, I guess we all have a love-hate relationship with them. We admire how pretty they are from very, very far away but we don’t want to get near them.

We know they are there but we hope we never see one, and only one thing comes to our minds when the word skunk is spoken in polite conversation.

They stink.

But if you can get passed the smell, you will find they are a very interesting animal.

For one thing, the skunk is like any animal in the East Tennessee forest in that it plays a role in the ecosystem and they do a great deal of good for all of us.

Without skunks, we would have to tolerate more mice, insects, and even snakes because they eat these annoying creatures when they can get them.

Since they are omnivorous, they will eat almost anything they can find and even change their diet to suit the seasons.

They eat bugs, grubs, snakes, rodents, plants, eggs and yes – garbage. They even help to clean up the roadways because they are scavengers and will eat dead flesh.

One interesting thing about the skunk is they are members of the weasel family and two different types live in this area – the striped skunk and the spotted skunk.

Many old-timers in this area called the spotted skunk the “Civet Cat” though the term refers to an animal that does not look anything like a skunk.

During the early days of our country, the skunk was seen as a symbol of evil because of its color and smell, but in reality, they are anything but evil.

They are a really beautiful creature and some very brave people even make them pets, though this is illegal in the state of Tennessee.

Skunks.

I hope you will never look at them the same again and the next time you see one, admire its beauty and remember how important it is to our East Tennessee forests.

Just do it from a safe distance!