Daisy Mae doesn't stink!

Among our many mammals here is a skunk named Daisy Mae. She was a family's pet until she made it clear she wasn't interested in the role. (Skunks, like most wildlife, cannot be domesticated successfully.) She's now here at the Museum as a "program" animal. That means she's not on exhibit but lives behind the scenes, appearing at wildlife shows, keeper talks and informal encounters with our visitors from time to time.

Daisy is also not interested in wearing a harness, something most of our education animals learn to do comfortably for animal and audience safety. So the wildlife staff are working with her to follow verbal and visual commands. They've found her motivation: food, and it appears to be working great!

The staff use a "target," a ball on a stick, to give the animals a visual cue to follow. The animals are trained to touch the target with their nose to get a food reward. Daisy has got this down and came by the offices recently to show off her skills.

Here she is, "free range":


Now Tauna shows her the target:


She follows it easily:


And happily enters her kennel for another snack.


Look for Daisy Mae and our other program animals at the Museum, especially as spring comes around and they shake off their "torpor" (semi-hibernation state).

PS: Daisy Mae really doesn't stink, as her previous owners had her de-scented.