Which animal smells bad?
The truth is this: a ferret can indeed emit an unpleasant odor (for this he has a couple of glands located under his tail), but he does this in the event of an attack, a threat - in general, in stressful situations. And the animal caught in the chicken coop fully lives up to the nickname stinking.
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Types of skunks
In terms of body structure, skunks are similar to badgers and steppe polecats. They also have a dense body and short legs. In total, there are about 13 species of skunks.
Let's look at the most common types:
striped skunk
One of the most numerous representatives of the family. The species has spread throughout southern Canada and central America. This animal is often found in cities. They tend to organize small shelters in basements. Prefers forested regions. It has a characteristic black and white coloration on the back. There is a white spot and stripe on the head. The weight of this species ranges from 1.2 to 5.3 kilograms.
Mexican skunk
The smallest representative. He settled the southwestern region of America. Found in rocky and desert areas. The color can be practical black with a white back, black with stripes on the sides, or a combination of both types of color. In general, it has many similarities with the striped skunk. The difference lies in the texture of the coat and its length. There are long hairs near the head, due to which skunks of this species received the separate name “hooded skunk”.
spotted skunk
This species combines 3 more subspecies: the lesser skunk, the spotted skunk and the dwarf skunk. They differ in their habitat. Lesser skunks have spread from the central United States to eastern Mexico. Spotted skunks have inhabited the southeastern and central United States. Pygmy skunks are native to the southwestern region of Mexico. All these species are distinguished by their ability to climb trees. They make their shelters among stones, in burrows and basements. They are distinguished by their soft coat and black color with several white stripes and spots.
Hog-nosed skunks
Unites about 5 species, differing in their habitat. These include:
- Hog-nosed skunk, which inhabited the southern United States and Nicaragua;
- Eastern Mexican skus, native to Texas;
- Half-striped skunk, found in southern Mexico, as well as Peru and Brazil;
- South American skus, which inhabited Bolivia, Chile and Argentina;
- Humboldt skunk, which inhabited Chile and Argentina.
These are the largest skunks, which can weigh up to 4.5 kilograms. All these representatives are endowed with black fur with wide white stripes on the back and a completely white tail. It is noteworthy that they do not have the characteristic white stripe in the head area. The name comes from the structure of the nose, which resembles a pig's snout. They prefer to inhabit uneven terrain and make burrows in rocks.
Spreading
The striped skunk is distributed very widely across North America, from the southern half of Canada to northern Mexico. This species inhabits a wide variety of habitats: forests and treeless plains, desert areas, but prefers open areas and forest edges. Striped skunks are especially numerous in farmland and suburbs, where there is plenty of food and shelter. Sometimes they even settle in cities, under houses and garages. Skunks mainly inhabit plains and low mountains, from sea level to 1800 m, but they were also found in the mountains at altitudes up to 4200 m above sea level. In recent centuries, the striped skunk has expanded its range northward following human clear-cutting of forests.
Sunda badger
The stinking badger or teledu lives on the islands of Southeast Asia (Borneo, Java, Sumatra, etc.). Outwardly, it is similar to an ordinary badger, however, the muzzle is pig-like with a bare tip of the nose, the tail is short, the fur is 3-4 cm long, black or brown. At the top of the head there is a decoration in the form of a white spot.
These animals are nicknamed stinky because, when threatened, they, like skunks, shoot a foul-smelling liquid from glands under their tails. They feed on underground parts of the plant, larvae and insects, plants, bird eggs, and carrion.
Keeping at home
Recently, among lovers of strange pets, there has been a fashion for keeping pet skunks. And why not, because in appearance they are quite pleasant and cute animals. But what about the smell? A solution has been found: domestic skunks simply have their anal glands that emit their “signature” odor removed, and the skunk becomes completely harmless in this regard.
Regarding the care and nutrition of the domestic skunk, it is in many ways similar to those of dogs. That is, skunks can be fed the same food that you feed your pet dog.
general description
Skunks are endowed with a characteristic coloration in the form of alternating stripes of white on a black background. There are slight differences in color depending on the species in question. This characteristic pattern serves a protective function for them.
In terms of their dimensions, skunks can reach from 17 to 30 centimeters in body length and with a weight ranging from 0.2 to 1 kilogram, with the exception of pig-nosed skunks.
The most famous characteristic of these representatives is their smelling anal glands, which produce and emit a persistent unpleasant odor. They are capable of spraying this liquid at a distance of up to 6 meters.
All skunks have a strong build and a very bushy tail. The limbs are short and well developed. At the ends there are sharp claws that help dig the ground for making burrows.
Video
And in conclusion, an interesting video about a man meeting with a real, smelly skunk.
Author: Pavel Chaika, editor-in-chief of Poznavaika magazine
When writing the article, I tried to make it as interesting, useful and high-quality as possible. I would be grateful for any feedback and constructive criticism in the form of comments on the article. You can also write your wish/question/suggestion to my email [email protected] or Facebook, with respect, the author.
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Skunks.
Activity and wintering
Striped skunks are active at dusk and at night, leaving to forage after sunset and returning to their shelter at dawn. Summer shelters can be located on the surface - in the grass or under a bush. In the northern part of their range, striped skunks spend the winter hiding in burrows and other shelters. Before this, they eat heavily, accumulating fat, and by spring they lose 15–40% of their autumn weight. Females and young skunks gather in one shelter, 6-8 animals each, sometimes a male joins them. Mostly adult males spend the winter alone.
In animals that enter true hibernation, the body temperature drops to 3–6 degrees, the heart beats less than 10 times per minute, and breathing is rare. It takes a chipmunk or hedgehog several hours to come out of this state. Other animals are characterized by winter sleep, in which the animal can quickly wake up, and the body temperature drops slightly (this is how bears sleep). During the winter, the striped skunk sometimes goes into a state called torpor. The normal body temperature of a striped skunk is 36.5 °C; in torpor it drops to 26 °C - this is the lowest body temperature recorded in the entire order of Carnivores. At the same time, the level of metabolism and, accordingly, energy costs to maintain a high body temperature are reduced.
Scientists have discovered that single and groups of skunks overwinter in completely different ways. Single individuals fall into torpor more often (50 times in 120 days), for a longer time (7–8 hours) and with a lower temperature (26–27 °C). At the same time, by the end of winter they deplete their fat reserves (and fat makes up less than 10% of body weight). Groups of striped skunks dive into torpor less frequently (6 times in 120 days), for less time (5 hours) and less deeply (body temperature 31 ° C), they manage to retain more fat until spring (25% of body weight). Social thermoregulation, where animals gather together and huddle closely together to maintain warmth, is also known in other species (for example, the alpine marmot, some mice and hamsters, the emperor penguin).
Nutrition
Skunks themselves are omnivorous predators and, as a result, their main food is various small rodents,
frogs, lizards. They do not disdain carrion, and since they are omnivorous animals, in addition to meat they can feast on grass, leaves, various fruits, and nuts.
Skunks often go out hunting at night, and to successfully overtake prey they use their well-developed senses of smell and hearing. They ambush small rodents, waiting for them, and when they appear, they make a swift jump, grabbing the prey with their paws and teeth.
Skunks also love honey very much, and when they come across
bee hive, then they will certainly ruin it. Bee stings are not scary for them due to their thick fur, through which a bee sting is not able to penetrate.
Lifestyle
Skunks are typically active at night. They dig holes on their own, but can occupy ready-made ones. Some representatives are excellent tree climbers. Animals that live in the northern regions, with the onset of autumn, begin to actively store fat for the period of hibernation. They do not go into complete hibernation in winter, but become very passive and only leave their burrows to search for food. They spend the winter in their permanent burrow. They can form groups of one male and several females.
Animals compensate for their poor eyesight with excellent sense of smell and hearing. They cannot distinguish objects that are located next to them.
Skunks prefer to spend warm seasons alone. These are not territorial animals, so they do not tend to occupy spaces and mark the boundaries of their possessions. As a rule, one female accounts for up to 4 square kilometers of territory, and one male accounts for up to 20 square kilometers.
Smell
The more than unpleasant smell of these animals is perhaps their main characteristic feature. The source of the unpleasant odor of a skunk is special odorous anal glands that secrete a caustic substance that actually has such a specific aroma. Moreover, a scented stream of secretion can be sprayed by a skunk at a distance of 1-6 m.
In fact, the smell serves the skunk as an unusual defense against predators, and also a very effective defense. When in danger, skunks do not try to hide from their enemies, but instead raise their fluffy tail and stomp their paws on the ground threateningly. If the warning fails, then the skunk turns its back and shoots its foul-smelling, oily liquid at the enemy. To describe what the smell of a skunk is like, perhaps there are not enough verbal epithets. As a result, many predators, knowing about such a specific method of protecting the skunk, prefer not to mess with it at all and stay away from it.
An interesting fact: the smell of skunk secretion is so persistent that if it gets on, for example, human clothing, it is better to burn it immediately, since all means to clean the clothes after this can only mask the unpleasant odor, but will not remove it completely.
Breeding period
Autumn marks the beginning of the breeding season for skunks. Typically this starts in September. Females become sexually mature at the age of one year. The animals themselves are characterized by polygamous behavior. There may be several females per male. Moreover, the male does not participate in raising the offspring.
The incubation period lasts up to 31 days. Females are characterized by embryonic diapause, when there is a delay in the attachment of the embryo to the walls. In such cases, pregnancy lasts two months. As a rule, from 3 to 10 small skunks are born, weighing only 22 grams. They appear completely blind and deaf. They become sighted only after several weeks. At the age of one month, they begin to shoot out their odorous liquid. For two months, females actively feed their offspring, after which they learn to get their own food. The female spends the first winter with her cubs. After which they are completely ready for independent life and can leave their mother’s territory.
Little skunk
Enemies
Skunks are virtually excluded from the food chain of other animals due to their ability to produce an odorous secretion that repels many predators. However, weak skunks can be attacked by predators such as bobcats, foxes, coyotes and badgers.
In case of danger, the skunk warns its opponents by taking a threatening pose, lifting its tail and stomping its feet. If the dangerous animal does not move away, then it begins to hiss, stand on its front paws and even feign a false shot. Thus, the animal gives predators a chance to avoid a confrontation. If this does not work, then the skunk arches its back and sprays its odorous secretion through its head towards the potentially dangerous animal. If it gets into the eye, this substance can cause temporary blindness.
The sprayed substance contains butyl mercaptan. It accumulates in the glands of the anus for a long time. As a rule, this liquid is enough for 6 shots. It will take a few more days to resume.
In addition, skunks are the main carriers of many diseases and parasites. In particular, these include a disease called histoplasmosis. Rabies is also common among skunks.
The most important enemy of these cute animals is man. Many people choose to kill skunks because of the odor they emit. There are also cases where skunks can attack poultry. Increasingly, skunks are killed on roads or while eating pre-poisoned bait.
