This tiny stowaway was in a shipping container: ‘They can take a lot’

Nadia’s colleagues Martijn and Tim visited the company in Tilburg and discovered that it was indeed a skunk. A relatively young animal of about a year. “He’s actually very reasonable,” Nadia said Wednesday. The animal has been lying on the road for about nine days without food or drink.

“Skunks can really take a lot,” says Nadia. That is evident from this adventure. According to her, the animal was not really shocked by her adventure. “He didn’t spray. Not when the transport company found him in the container, not when my colleagues came to catch him. A sign that he wasn’t scared. Because spraying is a natural defense mechanism of skunks.

“He was probably looking for a warm place,” Nadia explains of the animal’s discovery in the container. North America is the animal’s habitat, but D’Olymeulen can no longer trace where the animal comes from.

Skunk water has already been given to the transport company. When we arrived at De Oliemeulen, the keepers dewormed the animal and of course gave it food and water. It is not yet clear whether it is male or female. ‘Stowaway’ is now in quarantine for some time to recover, but if all goes well, the animal will soon join the group.

De Olemeulen already had several skunks, so the animal was a nice addition to the group. The young animal has already been given a fitting name: Tesla.

Martijn Vermeer, of the transport company of the same name where the skunk was discovered, is pleased that the stowaway is doing well. “It’s amazing he survived such a journey,” she says. “Yesterday I was unloading when a colleague called me: ‘There’s something else in your container!’ And then I saw the beast.” According to Martijn, the container smelled.