California skunk leaves Canada after a long, strange trip to 'Oz'

A California skunk nicknamed Dorothy that hitched a ride aboard a commercial truck to Canada in late December is finally going home after a fantastic whirlwind tour, wildlife officials said.

The four-pound (1.8-kilogram) female had traveled nearly 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) in five days without food or water in a sealed container, arriving in Canada slightly dehydrated but otherwise unharmed.

Canadian wildlife authorities believe it fell asleep in a large rubber pipe that was loaded onto the big rig in Torrance, Calif., in late December.

The animal was dubbed Dorothy after Judy Garland's character in the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" because it too "fell asleep and woke up in a strange land."