"Bob S." wrote in message
ups.com...

Frank wrote:

Skunk stayed in trap for a while and ambled off and did not spray.
Heard since that they will not spray if confined and best thing to do
is throw a tarp over them and haul them off. Damned if I'd put in the
trunk of my car though
Frank

I've heard that they need to set their feet, hunch their back, and
raise their tail in order to spray. If they can't do that, they can't
spray. Being confined in a small space would prevent that. Along the
same thought, I've heard that if you lift him off the ground by the
tail they can't set their feet, so can't spray. Anyone willing to
prove or disprove that theory??


No it isn't true. I've been sprayed by a surprised skunk before and he
wasn't doing a handstand at the time. Consider the purpose of the spraying,
its a defensive mechanism and something like turning, standing on your hands
and posing your tail isn't something you could do under duress and being
attacked by a wolf, puma, innocent hiker....

They may have to adopt a certain position, maybe like a cat does when a cat
sprays, but I'm sure it would release it's payload when confined if it felt
it had to.