A giant skunk has been spotted running around the leafy suburb of Muswell Hill, north London.
The mammal, which emits a noxious liquid when threatened, was caught on camera running towards a bus stop shocking early morning commuters.
The RSPCA confirmed the creature was “definitely a skunk” and urged anyone who sees it to report it to the charity.
Shop worker Lauren O’Hara, 34, spotted the striped mammal running towards her as she went to get on a bus first thing in the morning.
The 34-year-old told The Sun: “At first I thought it was a cat.
“Suddenly I realised it was a skunk and I lost it.
“I couldn’t believe it.
“The way it stopped at the bus stop, I thought it might be hopping on with me.”
She nicknamed the animal Pepé Le Pew after the love bombing cartoon skunk.
It is believed to be living in a local nature trail thousands of miles away from its normal habitat, the woodlands of North America.
Nearsighted and mostly nocturnal, Skunks are unlikely to draw attention to themselves as they go about eating insects, the occasional backyard chicken egg, small rodents and any pet food left outside.
They dig dens under houses and sheds, where the female typically produces one litter in early spring. The males are bachelors travelling between many dens.
