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Skunks Stinking Up Northern Manhattan, Dog Owners Say

By Carla Zanoni | August 18, 2010 10:49am | Updated on August 18, 2010 7:23am

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER MANHATTAN — Mike Johnson remembers a time when walking his dog at night was a nice way to relax, but says a rising population of skunks trolling his neighborhood has made setting foot outside the house an act of war.

Johnson’s dog Jax, a two-year-old collie-shepherd mix, has been sprayed by a skunk twice in the past two years, Johnson said — first getting hit on his side last summer and then being sprayed in the face just a week ago.

The odiferous animals have proliferated in upper Manhattan in recent years, coming out at night to scavenge for their dinner. And dog owners in the area are being forced to go on high alert.

“I remember how interesting it was to see a skunk when we first moved here, because I had only really seen cartoon skunks,” said Johnson, who moved into the area form the Upper West Side in 1999. “But now there is nothing controlling their population.”

Complaints about skunks in Upper Manhattan exploded last summer, reflected by neighborhood blogs and dog owner listservs that were flooded with new postings about skunk sightings and dogs being sprayed from Washington Heights all the way to northern Inwood.

This summer, City Councilman Robert Jackson’s office has reported an increased amount of complaints about the vermin.

The Parks department confirms an increased population of skunks, but said it has no hard numbers on the total population in northern Manhattan.

Parks spokeswoman Cristina DeLuce said people in the community can help fight the growing skunk population by waiting until pickup day to take out their trash, ending their habit of leaving food out for wild animals like feral cats, and keeping a leash and close eye on dogs.

But some officials see the advantages of having skunks around.

“The benefit of having skunks in a park is that they do help control rodents and insects, and they will feed on other dead animals, so they help as decomposers,” said Jennifer Hoppa, administrator for Northern Manhattan Parks.

Johnson said he is not convinced.

“If we had crystal ball and wanted to guesstimate how many would be out in five years, we might as well call it skunk park,” he said. “It’s absurd and short sighted and impacting on quality of life.”

A spokeswoman for Animal Care and Control said that the agency does not pick up skunks unless there is evidence the animal is diseased. Skunks can carry diseases like rabies.

Erika Espinal, 32, who lives in northern Inwood, said she has seen skunks in the neighborhood, but is not bothered by them.

“If getting rid of them means killing them, then no way,” Espinal, an acupuncturist, said. “I think they should be allowed to roam free. It's their neighborhood too.”