Skunks

Outdoor Professsor's Tips

Hello, I'm the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/

Here's your outdoor tip on skunks.

Skunks are not aggressive animals, but a close encounter with a skunk in the wild usually raises some level of fear in a person’s mind. Usually they will only be aggressive when surprised, cornered or when protecting their young. The first line of attack for many skunks will be to growl, spit, raise their tails, and stamp the ground. But if you don’t heed its message to “get out of town” seriously, the skunk will turn, lift its tail and spray in your direction. Sometimes an overly-enthusiastic pet dog, even in an urban setting, may bring a sampling of this disgusting scent to your backdoor when returning home after a skunk encounter.

This powerful sulfuric deterrent against predators is a strong smelling oily liquid produced by the glands under its tail. They are known to shoot this foul spray as far as #1____________ (How far do you think? I’ll give you several quiz questions such as this one in this podcast. Keep track of your answers and find the correct answers at the end of the podcast). The odorous spray is mostly an irritant, but close range exposure can product nausea, headaches, and vomiting. It can be temporarily incapacitating.

Major damage is usually not done to the skunk’s victim, but the smell may linger for days defying attempts to remove it. This defense is so widely known that even most animals respect the skunk’s territory and give a wide birth to even a hint of the smell. The smell of the skunk’s spray is very unique but some describe it as being like cat pee and rotten eggs—others say burnt rubber. Many think that they way to remove the scent from your body is by bathing in tomato juice. This is only true if you want you or your dog to smell like some kind of rare, but unappealing spaghetti dish. It is best to neutralize the skunk spray with baking soda (1/4 cup) and hydrogen peroxide (1 quart) with some liquid soap to break up the oil—you may experience some hair color change. It is best to just throw your clothes away as effective smell removal is not practical.

And here’s another quiz question for this podcast. How far away can you be and still smell a skunk’s sent? #2____________ (You’ll find the answer at the end of this podcast.)

Skunks forage at night with opportunistic and varied feeding habits. These nocturnal eaters find fruit, plants, insects, larvae, worms, eggs, reptiles and small animals. As they are immune to the venom, skunks can eat poisonous rattlesnakes when the opportunity arises. If the “fishing’s good,” they are also known to eat fish. They are most active at twilight with #3 ____________ eyesight (Answer at end.) and an excellent sense of smell and hearing.

Your next quiz question is “true or false.” Skunks will attack beehives to enjoy a treat o insects and honey. #4 ____________ (True or False—Check the end of the podcast for the correct answer.)

Skunks that you will encounter will all be various degrees of black and white (BW) colors. Most prevalent in north America is the striped skunk with white stripes down the sides of its black body. Skunks are the size of a house cat and can have striped, spotted or swirled patterns in BW.

Burrows created by other animals frequently provide their homes, but they may also live in hollow logs or abandoned structures. In cold winter months, they may spend weeks in sheltered enclosures, but they do not fully hibernate. Females give birth to 2-10 babies yearly.

When you see a group of skunks together they will be call a #5 ____________ (Quiz answer at the end.)

Because of its defensive spray, the skunk does not have to worry about many predators Three years is the average life span of many skunks in the wild. Birds of prey such as owls are not very offended by the defensive smell of the skunk so skunks are scooped into the sky frequently. Other animals have to be very hungry and are usually warded off from the black and white creatures. Cars are common causes of skunks living short lives ending up as road kill. The Centers for Disease Control report that about 23 percent of the identified rabies disease cases in wild animals are in skunks closely following 35 percent in raccoons and 24 percent in #6 ____________.

So when you encounter a skunk in the wild, your instincts are correct—make a wide detour and let the skunk enjoy its own territory in the outdoors.

Let’s go to the answers of your quiz questions. Hopefully, you kept track of your answers and now you can score your results.

Quiz Answers:

1. Skunks are known to shoot this foul spray as far as __________ .
   a. Three Feet
   *b. Ten Feet
   c. Thirty Feet
   d. One mile
2. How far away can you be and still smell a skunk’s sent?
   10 feet
   b. 30 feet
   c. 1000 feet
   *d. 1.5 miles
3. Skunks are most active at twilight with eyesight that is ____________
   a. excellent
   b. good in the dark
   *c. very poor
   d. color blind
4. Skunks will attack beehives to enjoy a treat o insects and honey
   *a. True
   b. False
5. A group of skunks is called a ____________
   *a. surfeit
   b. pod
   c. gaggle
   d. herd
6. The Centers for Disease Control report that about 23 percent of the identified rabies disease cases in wild animals are in skunks closely following 35 percent in raccoons and 24 percent in #6 _____________.
   a.robins
   b. snakes
   *c. bats
   d. gar

I hope you did well with the answers to the quiz questions…

This is the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/

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References-Additional Reading

Lifeform of the week: Skunks
http://earthsky.org/earth/lifeform-of-the-week-skunks-warn-the-eyes-before-tormenting-the-nose?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=e4e54e437a-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-e4e54e437a-394081361

Skunk
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/skunk/

Skunk Facts
http://www.havahart.com/skunk-facts

Nature Quotient.
eBook @Amazon.com

Outdoor Professor’s Tips: Exploring the Wonders of Nature
eBook @Amazon.com