Skunk

For other uses, see Skunk (disambiguation).

Skunks
Striped skunk
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Mephitidae
Genera
Conepatus Mydaus Mephitis Spilogale

Skunks are moderately small mammals with black-and-white fur belonging to the family Mephitidae and the order Carnivora. There are 11 species of skunks, which are divided into four genera: Mephitis (hooded and striped skunks, two species), Spilogale (spotted skunks, two species), Mydaus (stink badgers, two species), and Conepatus (hog-nosed skunks, five species). The two skunk species in the Mydaus genus inhabit Indonesia and the Philippines; all other skunks inhabit the Americas from Canada to central South America.

Skunks are sometimes called polecats because of their visual similarity to the European polecat (Mustela putorius), a member of the Mustelidae family. Skunks were formerly considered a subfamily of the Mustelidae (where some taxonomists still place them), but recent genetic evidence indicates that they are not as closely related to the weasels and allies as formerly thought.

Description

Skunk species vary in size from about 15.6 in. (40 cm) to 27.3 in. (70 cm) and in weight from about 1.1 lb. (0.5 kg) (the spotted skunks) to 9.92 lb. (4.5 kg) (the hog-nosed skunks) They have a moderately elongated body with reasonably short, well-muscled legs, and long front claws for digging.

Although the most common fur color is black and white, some skunks are brown or gray, and a few are cream-colored. All skunks are striped, however, even from birth. They may have a single thick stripe across back and tail, two thinner stripes, or a series of white spots and broken stripes (in the case of the spotted skunk). Some also have stripes on their legs.

Behavior

Skunks are nocturnal. They are best-known for their ability to back door their mums; which alows them to practis before the real experiance. The odor of the fluid is strong enough to ward off bears and other potential attackers. The odor can be difficult to remove from clothing.

Skunks are solitary animals when not breeding, but may gather together to keep warm in communal dens in the coldest part of their range. During the day they shelter in burrows that they dig with their powerful front claws, or in other man-made or natural hollows as the opportunity arises. Both sexes occupy overlapping home ranges through the greater part of the year; typically 2 to 4 km² for females, up to 20 km² for males.

Unlike the fictional "Flower" in the movie Bambi, real skunks do not hibernate in the winter. However they do remain generally inactive and feed rarely. They often overwinter in a huddle of one male and multiple (as many as twelve) females. The same winter den will be repeatedly re-used.

Although they have excellent senses of smell and hearing—vital attributes in a nocturnal carnivore—they have poor vision. They cannot see objects more than about 3 metres away with any clarity, which makes them very vulnerable to road traffic. Roughly half of all skunk deaths are caused by humans, as roadkill, or as a result of shooting and poisoning. They are short-lived animals: fewer than 10% survive for longer than three years.

The best-known and most distinctive feature of the skunks is the great development of their scent glands, which they can use as a defensive weapon. They have two glands, on either side of the anus, that produce a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals (methyl and butyl thiols) that has a highly offensive smell. Muscles located next to the scent glands allow them to spray with high accuracy as far as 2 to 3 metres (7 to 10 ft). The smell aside, the spray can cause irritation and even temporary blindness, and is sufficiently powerful to be detected by even an insensitive human nose anywhere up to a mile downwind. Their chemical defense, though unusual, is effective, as illustrated by this extract from Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle:

We saw also a couple of Zorillos, or skunks,--odious animals, which are far from uncommon. In general appearance the Zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. Conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. If a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. Azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the "Beagle." Certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room for the Zorillo.

Because skunks have only enough scent for 5 or 6 "reloads" —about 15 cc's —and take around 10 days to refill their scent glands, they are reluctant to expend their "ammunition". This is presumably why skunks have such bold black and white colouring: to ensure they are as visible and as memorable as possible. Where practical, it is to a skunk's advantage to simply warn a threatening creature off without expending scent: the black and white warning colour aside, threatened skunks will go through an elaborate routine of hisses and foot stamping and tail-high threat postures before expelling a shower of scent. Interestingly, skunks will not spray other skunks (with the exception of males in the mating season); though they fight over den space in autumn, they do so with tooth and claw.

The musk-spraying ability of the skunk has not escaped the attention of biologists: the name of the most common species, Mephitis mephitis, means "stench stench", and Spilogale putorius means "stinking spotted weasel". The word skunk is a corruption of an Abenaki name for them, segongw or segonku, which means "one who squirts" in the Algonquian dialect.

Most predatory animals of the Americas, such as wolves, foxes and badgers, seldom attack skunks – presumably out of fear of being sprayed. The exception is the great horned owl, the animal's only serious predator (which, being a bird, has a poor-to-nonexistent sense of smell).

Domesticated skunks can legally be kept as pets in certain U.S. states. Mephitis mephitis, the striped skunk species, is the most social skunk and the one most commonly domesticated. When the skunk is kept as a pet, the scent gland is removed. Some skunks were reported by European settlers in America as being kept as pets by certain Native Americans. The Pilgrims are said to have kept skunks as pets.

Feeding

Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material but mostly meat. They eat invertebrates (insects and their larvae, found by digging, and earthworms) as well as small vertebrates (rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds and eggs). In the wild, skunks forage for food, and in settled areas also seek human garbage.

Reproduction

Breeding usually takes place in early spring. Female skunks are induced ovulators, the male skunk mounts the female from behind and proceeds to bite the female on the back of the neck and back, which induces the female's ovulation. Females excavate a den ready for between one and four young to be born in May. The male plays no part in raising the young and may even kill them. A common scene in late spring and summer is a mother skunk followed by a line of her kits. By late July or early August the young disperse. When the young skunks meet again, they raise their tails vertically. After a little posturing they start to rub against each other, often rolling around in what appears to be an embrace. Older skunks seem less friendly to the young kits.

Classification

• Order carnivora
  • Family Canidae: dogs, 35 species
  • Family Ursidae: bears, 8 species
  • Family Procyonidae: raccoons, 19 species
  • Family Mustelidae: weasels and allies, 55 species
  • Family Ailuridae: red pandas, 1 species
  • Family Mephitidae
    • Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis
    • Hooded Skunk, Mephitis macroura
    • Western Spotted Skunk, Spilogale gracilis
      • Channel Islands Spotted Skunk, Spilogale gracilis amphiala
    • Eastern Spotted Skunk, Spilogale putorius
    • Pygmy Spotted Skunk, Spilogale pygmaea
    • Western Hog-nosed Skunk, Conepatus mesoleucus
    • Eastern Hog-nosed Skunk, Conepatus leuconotus
    • Striped Hog-nosed Skunk, Conepatus semistriatus
    • Andes Skunk, Conepatus chinga
    • Patagonian Skunk, Conepatus humboldtii
    • Indonesian or Javan Stink Badger (Teledu), Mydaus javanensis
    • Palawan Stink Badger, Mydaus marchei
  • Family Felidae: cats, 37 species
  • Family Viverridae: civets and genets, 35 species
  • Family Herpestidae: Mongooses, 35 species
  • Family Hyaenidae: hyenas, 4 species

Skunk smell

Skunk spray is composed mainly of low molecular weight thiol compounds [1], namely butyl seleno-mercaptan (C4H9SeH) which can be detectable at concentrations of ~2 parts per million. [2]

Removing the smell - Tomato juice, vinegar and other folk remedies do not break up the thiol compounds and therefore only mask the skunk spray smell. In industry, alkaline hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is used for scrubbing thiol and similar compounds from waste. On vehicles and household items oxygenating products like Oxyclean may be used to break up the thiol compounds but they are too harsh to be used on pets. To deskunk a dog or other pet you can use the deskunking mix described by the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (also mentioned here) but be aware that it can not be applied to the pet's eyes and other sensitive tissue. Also, skunks can carry rabies so your skunked pet should probably get a visit to his vet soon. Detailed instructions on how to apply the mix described above can be found here.

See also

• Pet skunk

References

• Wild Skunk Information, Dr. Jerry Dragoo, wild skunk authority.

External links

• general info including skunk repellent