Although renowned around the world for their stupefying stench, there’s far more to these misunderstood mammals than meets the nose…
Words Adam Millward
STRIPED SKUNK
Mephitis mephitis
Class Mammalia
Territory North America
Diet Birds, small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, eggs, carrion, insects, seeds, grains, nuts and fruit
Lifespan 6–7 years
Adult weight 1.2–5.3kg (2.6–11.7Ib)
Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
Being known as the ‘King Pong’ of the animal kingdom is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, having such a redolent reputation protects you from many dangers. Often, just the sight of that black-and-white coat and bushy tail is enough to send a potential predator packing in the opposite direction!
On the other hand, skunks’ noxious notoriety has also led to their vilification. For many pest controllers they are enemy number one, and people will go to great efforts to deter these creatures from entering their neighbourhood or even eliminate any deemed to have ventured too close to their homes.
There are 12 different species in the extended Mephitidae family, which fall into five distinct groups: striped, spotted, hooded, hog-nosed and ‘stink badgers’. All of these are based in the Americas, bar the last group; stink badgers (definitely skunks rather than badgers, despite their name) reside on tropical islands in Southeast Asia.
Skunks are adaptable creatures, living in a range of habitats including woodland, grassy plains, scrubland, streambeds, ravines and even rocky mountain slopes. Many skunks seem to favour ecotones – areas where two types of biome meet, for instance, where a forest edges onto marshland – most likely because such zones offer a greater variety of food sources.
The entire family is, of course, distinguished by its back-end bio-weapon, a pungent secretion that they can fire with surprising range and accuracy to defend themselves against predators. Another family trait are distinctive markings, which, while coming in different patterns and shades, all serve as a clear warning to stay away. For anyone who’s had the misfortune to have been on the receiving end of a skunk attack, you can’t say they didn’t try to warn you!
What is that smell?
How stink helps skunks to stay alive
From armour in the form of shells and spikes to weapons such as poison and claws, self-defence is crucial to the survival of many animals on the lower rungs of the food chain. However, few have evolved a strategy quite like the skunk to keep enemies at bay – but that’s not to say it isn’t effective. Quite the contrary!
The skunk’s foul spray is a potent cocktail of volatile sulphur-hydrogen compounds, known as thiols and thiocyanates. While the former generate the initial astringent stench that can induce nausea, tears and even temporary blindness (thiols are also present in raw onion and rotting organic matter), it’s the latter th
