Skunks are members of the weasel family and live an average of ten years, but sometimes reach up to 20.
The common skunk has a long arched body, short legs, a bushy tail and black fur with white streaks on the back.
A skunk is usually black, but some can be brown or gray.
Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plants and small animals and changing their diets as the seasons change. Their diet includes berries, leaves, grasses, nuts, earthworms, frogs, grubs, rodents, snakes, birds and eggs. In places where humans live, skunks often steal food from garbage or pet bowls.
As babies, they are nocturnal, but can adapt to their owner's sleeping patterns when older.
Most types of skunk live in the United States and Canada, but there are also types that live in Indonesia and the Philippines.
A male skunk is called a buck, a female is called a doe, and baby skunk is called a kit.
Skunks hibernate in groups, sometimes sharing a den with up to 20 others.
Skunks spray a liquid when they feel threatened. The odor, similar to rotten eggs or garlic, is enough to ward off bears and other attackers.
Dogs often get sprayed by Skunks because Skunks lift their tails as a warning, Dogs see this as "Come smell my butt," which is the exact opposite message from what the Skunk is trying to send.
Muscles located next to the scent glands allow skunks to spray their stench with a high degree of accuracy, as far as 3 m (10 ft).
Skunks do not enjoy getting sprayed by other skunks and merely tolerate their own scent.
Chicago is derived from a Fox Indian term for 'place of the skunk' indicating that these animals were once abundant there.
The great horned owl is the only animal that will eat a skunk.
Source Daily Mail
The common skunk has a long arched body, short legs, a bushy tail and black fur with white streaks on the back.
A skunk is usually black, but some can be brown or gray.
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| Pixiebay |
Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plants and small animals and changing their diets as the seasons change. Their diet includes berries, leaves, grasses, nuts, earthworms, frogs, grubs, rodents, snakes, birds and eggs. In places where humans live, skunks often steal food from garbage or pet bowls.
As babies, they are nocturnal, but can adapt to their owner's sleeping patterns when older.
Most types of skunk live in the United States and Canada, but there are also types that live in Indonesia and the Philippines.
A male skunk is called a buck, a female is called a doe, and baby skunk is called a kit.
Skunks hibernate in groups, sometimes sharing a den with up to 20 others.
 |
| Striped skunks |
Skunks spray a liquid when they feel threatened. The odor, similar to rotten eggs or garlic, is enough to ward off bears and other attackers.
Dogs often get sprayed by Skunks because Skunks lift their tails as a warning, Dogs see this as "Come smell my butt," which is the exact opposite message from what the Skunk is trying to send.
Muscles located next to the scent glands allow skunks to spray their stench with a high degree of accuracy, as far as 3 m (10 ft).
Skunks do not enjoy getting sprayed by other skunks and merely tolerate their own scent.
Chicago is derived from a Fox Indian term for 'place of the skunk' indicating that these animals were once abundant there.
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| Hooded skunk Pixiebay |
Source Daily Mail
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