Skunks!

I’ve been told by the Princess that I should worry more about skunks than bears at camp, since so far, she’s had two skunks “charge” at her and there are at least seven at camp.

Being a paranoid camp mom, I could easily find more things to worry about. However, I’m not sure I should add skunks to my list. Here’s why:

She’s a very intelligent person. However, I’m not completely sure she would recognize “charging” if she saw it, as her normal speed is “turtle-slow,” so technically we all “charge.” And while she only has to be faster than the slowest person if running from a bear, she usually IS the slowest person.

Even if we accept her classification of “charging,” neither of those two skunks sprayed her. I’m curious to find out what was behind her, since perhaps there was something else they were after—I know, she’s the center of the universe, interest in anything other than her is probably impossible to imagine. Maybe there was a bear?

I’m pretty sure that if the skunks were “charging” her that means their heads were closer to her than their tails. Tails being the dangerous parts of skunks. Bears, however, have bigger teeth and claws.

According to the Internet, which is at least as reliable as my teenager, skunks eat plants, bugs and small rodents. Basically, they get rid of pests. While she might be a pest, no self-respecting skunk is going to eat her. Bears, on the other hand...

The cure for being sprayed by a skunk is bathing in tomato juice. You then have to take an actual shower to get rid of the juice. Encouraging bathing while at camp is a good thing. What am I missing?