Marie Tosa pulled into the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest parking lot with a white, mud splattered truck. Arranging dozens of metal cages for cleaning on the damp grass, she readied her gear to take me on a unique search: for skunks.

Tosa grew up in Boston, receiving her Bachelor’s of Arts in Biology and Environmental Studies from NYU before earning a Master’s Degree in Zoology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Now working on her PhD, she focuses on terrestrial food webs – specifically of small carnivores – at HJ Andrews and throughout the Pacific Northwest. She and I agree, skunks can be adorable.

Read the entire article on the LTER Network website!