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Striped Skunk
(Mephitis mephitis)
This gorgeous stinker
was discovered by the side of the road, muddy and drenched in a culvert
shortly after an evening thunderstorm. Most likely, she had been washed
out of a natal den by the torrential downpour. Her finders deposited
her in the bed of their pick-up truck and rumbled home with her amidst
bottles, brush, and other refuse. The next morning, the call came
in to me to pick up the little orphan and I sped off to retrieve the
nearly three-week-old skunk. Upon arrival, I discovered the frightened
little one had managed to wiggle her way into the winching mechanism
in back of the truck. After slow and careful maneuvering of a disconnected
garden hose, the black and white tyke made her exit and was quickly
scooped up to safety. Despite all her arduous adventures so early
in life, this little girl grew into a healthy, spunky skunk. She was
released just in time to spend her first Thanksgiving out in the wild,
thankful in her own way, I’m sure, for gaining a second chance at
life free-roaming the Texas landscape, vanquishing all the delicious
rodents and insects in her path. |
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Cozy and safe
in a bed of fleece blankets, the orphaned skunk snoozes while sucking
her toes, like a human baby sucking its thumb.
Photo courtesy Dove Key Ranch Wildlife Rehabilitation |
Why love skunks?
From
the moment that I held my first baby skunk, I was hooked! This glinting-eyed,
chubby, fuzzy cherub instantly stole my heart. And, as the little
guy grew and developed his own unique personality, I fell even deeper
in love with him and his black and white kin. Similar to humans, dolphins,
corvids, and other animals with high levels of memory and problem-solving
capabilities, skunks are distinct individuals that display their own
blend of behavioural traits: some are hyper and domineering, others
are affectionate clowns, still others are serious detectives of their
surroundings. The only two things that all skunks seem to have in
common are their curiosity and obstinance. I think if skunks had opposable
thumbs and better vision, they would be giving us a run for our money!
Temperaments aren’t the only variable between individual skunks: each
mephitid has its own unique black and white patterning. Even within
a single litter, shiny coats can vary from almost all white to almost
all black and every speckling and striping in between. (photo)
If their aesthetic appeal fails to override their “smell factor” in
your estimation, let me assure you: they don’t want to spray any more
than you want to smell them spray! Skunk spray is an oily yellowish
to dark orange liquid chock full of thiols (hence the garlic-y aroma),
which is projected from nipples attached to a pair of anal glands
in the business end of the fuzzy stinker. Although the noxious secretion
seems like the ideal weapon against all violations to mephitid peace,
skunk anal glands can only store a limited amount of the powerful
juice. Once empty, their anal sacs may take days to refill, leaving
the striped marauder without its most notable and powerful defense.
For this reason, skunks are loath to use their valuable spray unless
they feel they are in imminent danger. If you leave them alone, they’ll
more than happily leave you alone. However, if you are bold enough
to encroach on their space, you’ll get more than fair notice before
the odiferous cocktail starts to fly because, in their reluctance
to waste their precious resource, mephitids have become the masters
of bluff. If his foreboding black and white patterning have failed
to ward you off, the skunk will raise his tail, a proud flag of warning;
stomp his front feet, like the most defiant tantruming toddler the
human race has to offer; and drag his squat self backwards, ending
the display with a flourish of his rear from which you may be unlucky
enough to see crimson nipples sited straight for you. As long as the
stocky fellow is convinced you’re paying him heed, he’ll fervently
continue this unintentionally comic performance, pulling himself in
reverse with each reiteration until he judges his distance from you
is adequate for a quick spin and dash for safety.
Even in the errant cases when skunk spray may infiltrate your world,
these striped wonders more than make up for any foul aromas with their
unmatched gift for “pest” control. Voles, mice, rats, and other rodents
are their favorites, while wasps, spiders, cockroaches, scorpions,
grubs, slugs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and crop-destroying vermin
are not far behind on the dietary hit list. They may even contribute
to de-stinkifying your yard by ridding your property of another mephitid
delicacy: stinkbugs. Skunks are one of the few mammals to munch these
repulsive insects, patiently rolling the foul-smelling beetle across
the ground until all the distasteful glandular secretions have been
wiped clean and the protein packet is cleared for consumption. Strong
forelegs, paws widened by partial webbing between the digits, and
tough claws also aid these stout predators in tenaciously unearthing
gophers and moles. And to cap off the mephitid menu of “pests,” add
snakes, including rattlesnakes, copperheads, and water moccasins.
Few native mammals can safely catch, let alone relish, poisonous snakes
as much as skunks do. |
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Fully grown and
well-practiced in foraging for insects, rodents, and other natural
foods, the female skunk is returned to the wild and immediately starts
exploring her new home.
Photo
courtesy Dove Key Ranch Wildlife Rehabilitation |
So, if you fear
snakes; appreciate intelligent, charismatic beings from the non-human
animal realm; are amused by bombastic threat displays from pudgy,
cranky little mammals; find a graceful beauty in the shiny-coated
black and white wild spirits that slip through the crepuscular hours;
want the mice out of your barn or furry excavators out of your cattle
field for free; and/or wonder at the evolution of a creature that
shoots noxious fluids from its anus as a defense mechanism, then you,
too, should LOVE skunks! And maybe you will agree with my assertion
that nothing can compare to the sight of a wild skunk, foraging in
the early morning dew: the seemingly improbable, yet perfect combination
of a striking, sleek and efficient predator and a comical, waddling,
play-loving goof.
© Bonnie Wroblewski
http://www.dovekeywildlife.org
December 2, 2010
More Dove Key Ranch Wildlife Rehabilitation
- "Animal of the Month" Series |
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