Learn all about Oscar, Dexter and DeeDee!
If you’ve visited the Zoo, you’ve likely met a lot of our more than 800 animal residents. Some animals are easy to spot, but others are often not as easy to see because of their habitat set up, their personalities or their sleep cycles among other things. We wanted to start a “Meet the Animals” section of our blog to introduce you to some of the residents that you may (or may not have) met yet!
We have some scent-sational Zoo residents to introduce you to: our skunk trio!
Almost everyone knows Oscar. He’s our original striped skunk, and he has quite the personality. Oscar enjoys attention from his animal care team, and he will hang out right below your feet. That means our keepers do the “skunk shuffle” in his presence to ensure he’s not stepped on. Oscar is the easiest skunk to spot since his coloration is different than most: He is mostly white with some black on his sides!
Oscar is quite the forager.
His comfort around people comes from his history as a former pet. He was surrendered to an animal rescue due to his previous owner no longer being able to care for him. Unfortunately, skunks don’t make good pets, and we do not recommend keeping one in your home. They have very demanding wellbeing needs that are not a great fit in most homes, and they do not enjoy physical touch from people. As always, we recommend any to-be pet owner does plenty of research before buying a pet.
Dexter and DeeDee are relatively new additions to our Animal Ambassador team, having joined our Zoo in 2023. Dexter is the more outgoing of the two.
“He loves to watch his keepers from afar to see what we are up to,” said Animal Ambassador keeper Emma. “He is always very curious and wants to interact with everything.”
While Deedee might take a bit longer to warm up, she is incredibly smart. She is a training pro, having already picked up on participating in voluntary ultrasounds and other training behaviors. However, snuggling up in her burrow is always on the top of her priority list.
Dexter and Deedee are also rescues. They were found with two other siblings alongside their mom who had unfortunately passed away. Being too little to care for themselves, they were taken in in pairs, and we got Dexter and Deedee.
Because all of our skunks were raised around people, they make great Animal Ambassadors! They were desensitized to new sights,
Dexter and DeeDee love their enrichment.
sounds and smells from a young age, so they are more comfortable traveling to new locations. However, like all our Ambassadors, our skunks are closely watched during encounters. If they show any signs of stress, we will end the program or remove the stressor for their wellbeing.
“Skunks are often misunderstood,” says Emma. “Many people say ‘ew’ when they see them or don’t want to get close. However, that makes them great for educating our visitors to build understanding for this Florida-native species.”
When this trio is not out and about in the community, they’re usually sleeping. That’s because skunks are nocturnal! Our skunks, along with all of our nocturnal ambassador animals, often work the night shift when attending special events. While they have gotten more used to waking up during the day for this reason, we still offer them the choice to stay in and sleep. Our keepers will respect their decision and take another willing ambassador animal to the event. However, most of our ambassadors do rise to the occasion when snacks are present.
At night, our skunks get busy foraging across their habitat, climbing structures and building the perfect burrows. They may also be digging into enrichment items. Finding scattered live bugs, pawing at dishes of water and smelling rotting logs are some of their favorite pastimes.
Training time is also an important part of their day. Oscar and Dexter practice voluntary kenneling, so they can get to programs stress-free. Oscar has also learned to do proximity walking, meaning he will walk alongside a keeper leash-free while following a target. Deedee is fully ultrasound trained, and while she is not pregnant, it can give us other important information about her health.
Our Animal Ambassador team loves working with our skunks for many reasons.
“I love working with them because of how motivated and involved they are,” said Emma. “It is also fun to work with an animal that is misunderstood so we can focus on building strong connections with our guests.”
With these guys being nocturnal, it can be a bit tricky to spot our striped friends during your Zoo visit. However, you can stop by their Rainforest Revealed habitat on Saturdays at 1 p.m. for their Ambassador Animal training chat. We also recommend looking for them first thing in the morning when the Zoo opens and around closing time. As Ambassadors, they will also appear for special occasions at the Zoo, so make sure to request Oscar, DeeDee or Dexter to make an appearance at your next Zoo event!
Special thanks to Flammio Financial Group, Stifel-Garvin Wealth Management Group, Artemis IT, and Jim and Darleen Barfield. Their generosity makes our work possible!
Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables us to continue to serve our community and continue our vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs.