I've seen some crazy chit over the years but this probably takes the cake:
Fall of 2010 I get permission to trap this little 1-2 acre field on the corner of a larger property. It's right on the road and there are houses across the road, and a little house beside the field on the other side of the property. A little close to human traffic than I like to trap, but I have trapped places with more traffic. I was a little nervous when I went out to set the first time....a couple of fox sets by some round bales on the inside corner of the field.
I'm out there just a few minutes when all of a sudden a sedan comes driving across the field from the little house. I'm think "what the heck" and it pulls right up and there's a little old lady behind the wheel and she rolls down the window and says "there's a red polecat chasing me." At this point I think she is flatout crazy and I'm at a loss for words. But then sure as chit I look over and here comes a red tinted skunk running across the field toward us right in her tracks.
So, not wanting to just pull out a gun and scare her, I politely ask if she would like me to shoot it. She's says yes. I take my .22 revolver out. By this time the skunk is within 30-40' and has stopped and is just looking at me. I walk a bit closer and shoot it behind the elbow and its dead. She thanks me and drives back to the house, then off on the road. Turns out she is the sister of the lady living there and the skunk came after her as she was getting in her car.
So I washed the skunk and the red came out....had a den in red clay. I've trapped many dozens of skunks and that's the only red one I ever saw. I pelted it and it was covered in bite marks. I am supposing it had distemper or worse, I've never seen one act like that. Definitely a strange incident.
