Skunks

For my first post I decided to write about an animal that almost everyone in North America hates, fears, or fearfully hates. I am talking of course about the skunk.

Why has the skunk become so wildly successful? Well largely it is because of that most famous of skunk attributes, its scent. Or rather its scent glands, which allow it to expel noxious spray from nipples located at its anus. Many carnivorous or omnivorous mammals have scent glands located in their back end. In most of these animals the glands are usually used for marking territory or attracting mates, rather than for defense. There are several types of animals that have weaponized their glands, but none quite as much as skunks. In fact, the skunks scent glands are so modified that they can be aimed and sprayed up to 12 feet, and can even be controlled to be a stream or a spray, like different modes on a hose! These glands have made every predator in North America, including humans, wary of messing with skunks, and largely giving them free range of anywhere they choose to go.

Despite personal experiences to the contrary, skunks do not like using their spray unless they feel they need to. Only about four teaspoons of the stuff can be held in the skunk at once and making more takes valuable time and energy. Skunks have several distinct warnings before they spray. Those stripes you see are not just there for camouflage at night. The patterns are distinct and memorable, and any, predator who has had any experience dealing with the critters before knows to stay well away. If it’s pattern doesn't intimidate enough, and it cannot run away, skunks will also raise a high, rigid tail, stomp the ground, and spotted skunks can even do a handstand before they spray!

But its weapons alone do not make it successful. Skunks hunt mostly at night and at dusk and dawn. This allows certain out of sight out of mind attitude for many people and has allowed huge populations of skunks to exist in a human community where a similar animal prevalent during the daytime might be driven out.

Skunks will also eat anything, and I do mean anything. Skunks can thrive on our trash, scraps garden plants and even our pets’ food. Besides that, skunks have no problem going after some unusual prey like stink beetles, bee hives (for both the honey and the insects themselves) and even rattlesnakes! Truly these are not picky animals

Here was my main source. A good documentary for anyone who wants to know more about skunks and has an hour to kill: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/is-that-skunk/video-full-episode/4581/

The image above was obtained from: http://obrag.org/?p=23820