An acrobatic skunk has been caught on camera performing the perfect handstand.
Rescue skunk Valentino was spotted hopping onto his front paws and strutting his stuff around an enclosure.
However, the seven-month-old Eastern Spotted skunk was not trying out a new hobby- in fact, he was showcasing his go-to defence mechanism.
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The clip was captured at the Wilderness Trail Wildlife Centre in Kentucky, US, as reported by What’s The Jam.
A Ring.com camera captured Valentino’s handstand on 10 Oct, which is used by his species to make themselves appear bigger and scare off potential predators.
Unlike their more familiar striped cousins, spotted skunks are known for their extraordinary upside-down displays.
Valentino arrived at the wildlife centre as a baby after being found close to death from malnutrition.
Tonya Poindexter, who founded the centre in 2019, installed a Ring camera in his enclosure to keep an eye on his recovery without disturbing him.
The footage allowed Tonya to monitor the nocturnal animal around the clock while ensuring he did not become too accustomed to human contact ahead of his eventual release into the wild.
And it did not take long for Valentino to show off his signature move.
Tonya said: “Oh, I laughed!
“He was so super funny. He did this a lot, and it never got old.”
She decided to share the clips to raise awareness of the elusive species, which has seen its population decline in recent decades.
Tonya said: “Most people never get to see spotted skunks, as there aren’t as many of them anymore, and they definitely don’t know about the handstands.
“So I wanted to share Valentino’s story.”
Eastern Spotted Skunks are far more elusive than their striped relatives, preferring to live deep in woodland rather than venture into residential areas.
Their declining numbers mean sightings are increasingly rare, making Valentino’s unusual antics an opportunity to shine a light on a little-known animal.
Tonya also praised the role Ring cameras play in caring for the animals at the Wilderness Trail Wildlife Centre, a registered 501(c)(3) charity.
She said: “Ring has changed my life by making me feel more secure and being able to just look quickly on my app to see when there’s movement.
“I can put a camera in enclosures to make sure my animals are behaving themselves when I’m not physically around them.
“If they get into something that they shouldn’t, I can see it on my Ring app and go out and fix the problem.”
Thankfully, Valentino’s story has a happy ending.
The little skunk has since been successfully released back into the wild – where he can hopefully continue his upside-down antics away from the camera.
