ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Western North Carolina Nature Center has lost one of its rockstar animals. This week, Elvis the Striped Skunk passed away at the age of 8, following a recent decline in health.
According to Erin Oldread, Animal Curator at the Nature Center, Elvis was a beloved fixture of the Nature Center. Those who got the chance to meet him “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
“Elvis came to us when he was a juvenile from the Knoxville Zoo, and we’ve had him ever since,” Oldread said. “He was a really great ambassador animal that lived in the barn. When guests would walk by him, of course, little kids would yell, ‘Oh, smelly!’ ‘Cause that’s what people first think about skunks.”
Like most zoo skunks, however, Elvis was de-scented by the time he came to live at the Nature Center.
“So, he was just an animal that was really great for them to be able to see up close and learn a little bit more about an animal that lives here in Western North Carolina,” Oldread said.
Nearly 9 years old when he died, Elvis lived a remarkably long time for a skunk. According to Oldread, most skunks live to be 2-5 years old in the wild.
“He was definitely an old man,” Oldread chuckled.
As a representative of one of WNC’s most iconic species, Elvis was a pivotal stop for Nature Center guests on educational tours.
“They would just talk about how important skunks are to Western North Carolina,” Oldread explained. “Their sprayer that they have, that’s a defense mechanism, and so just educating guests that way.
“I think a lot of it is just being able to provide that opportunity, for families and people that live here, to see an animal that might be a little bit more elusive. I haven’t seen a skunk in the wild, personally, in a long time.”
In a Facebook post announcing his passing, the Nature Center wrote that Elvis enjoyed insect treats like mealworms and dubia roaches. Here’s hoping he is enjoying a few of the critters in the Great Skunk Beyond.