Beware the wild quillcaster
The wilderness is encroaching on my neighbourhood. It’s been only a couple of weeks since the family followed a skunk, complete with it’s own trap, through the neigbourhood. Then this afternoon, another visitor, just a few doors away: the common porcupine. Or not so common, because outside of roadkill and the odd zoo, I’d never seen one in situ. This one was only a few metres away, perched on the front doorstep of a house and I was suddenly very glad that the dog stays inside.
Just today at lunchtime, I was reading a newspaper from Nova Scotia where the local veterinarian warns dog owners to be on watch while taking their dog for a walk in the local woods. The usual trite remarks about how the animal does not “shoot its quills”; I knew that, somehow. After all, we don’t find practice ranges with barby things stuck in the targets. The numbers were somewhat disturbing though. A record breaking report of some poor pooch receiving a 1,347-quill pummeling meant that its dedicated animal lover spent many hours with a set of tweezers following that incident.
So here I am, face to face with a wild animal on the street near where I live. It didn’t seem to be concerned, and it didn’t chase me away. If only I had the habit of carrying a camera for the chance encounters of my lifetime. Alas, that habit was broken years ago. Maybe when I’m older… and if the number of wild animal incidents increases, I could spot a bear. After all, the primeval forest is only a few kilometers away, and there was a death a couple of years back. Perhaps I’ll forget about a camera and go straight to something with a bit more stopping power. Or better yet, harness the skunk odour and the quills as a natural bear repellant.
