“It was like watching something out of a cartoon.”
Recently in Oregon’s Baker County, Sheriff Travis Ash was driving back from a search and rescue mission when he encountered an unexpected obstacle on the road.
There, right in his path, Ash came upon a moving family scene: a group of skunks. He quickly hit the brakes to avoid startling them — a mother skunk and her several young ones. Some of the little skunks were lagging behind, needing gentle encouragement from their parent to keep moving.
“[Sheriff Ash] noticed the mama skunk was diligently herding them,” described Ashley McClay from the Baker County Sheriff’s Office. “It seemed like these little ones were quite mischievous.”
In the end, the striped family safely crossed to the other side of the road, sticking close together thanks to the mother’s attentive care and Sheriff Ash’s patient watchfulness.
“Living in rural eastern Oregon, we’re accustomed to encountering various wildlife, but I never expected such a humorous sight,” Ash shared. “It felt like watching a scene from a cartoon. That mother skunk definitely deserves the ‘Mother of the Year’ title!”