How To Make A Skunk Tail

Mutual proper noun of mammals in the family Mephitidae

Not to exist confused with Polecat.

Skunks
Striped skunks
Scientific nomenclature
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Club:	Carnivora
Superfamily:	Musteloidea
Family unit:	Mephitidae
Groups included
Conepatus Mephitis Spilogale †Brachyprotoma
Skunk genera ranges
Cladistically included but traditionally excluded taxa
Mydaus †Palaeomephitis †Promephitis

Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a stiff, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Unlike species of skunk vary in appearance from blackness-and-white to dark-brown, cream or ginger colored, but all take warning coloration.

While related to polecats and other members of the weasel family, skunks take as their closest relatives the Old World stink badgers.^[1]

Taxonomy [edit]

In alphabetical order, the living species of skunks are:^[2]

• Family Mephitidae
  • Genus: Conepatus
    • Conepatus chinga – Molina's hog-nosed skunk
    • Conepatus humboldtii – Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk
    • Conepatus leuconotus – American grunter-nosed skunk
    • Conepatus semistriatus – striped squealer-nosed skunk
  • Genus: Mephitis
    • Mephitis macroura – hooded skunk
    • Mephitis mephitis – striped skunk
  • Genus: Spilogale
    • Spilogale angustifrons – southern spotted skunk
    • Spilogale gracilis – western spotted skunk
    • Spilogale putorius – eastern spotted skunk
    • Spilogale pygmaea – pygmy spotted skunk

Terminology [edit]

The word skunk is dated from the 1630s, adjusted from a southern New England Algonquian language (probably Abenaki) seganku , from Proto-Algonquian *šeka:kwa , from *šek- 'to urinate' + *-a:kw 'play a joke on'.^[iii] Skunk has celebrated employ as an insult, attested from 1841.^[iv]

In 1634, a skunk was described in The Jesuit Relations:

The other is a low beast, about the size of a little dog or cat. I mention it here, not on account of its excellence, simply to brand of it a symbol of sin. I accept seen three or four of them. It has black fur, quite cute and shining; and has upon its back two perfectly white stripes, which join near the neck and tail, making an oval that adds profoundly to their grace. The tail is bushy and well furnished with pilus, like the tail of a Fox; it carries it curled dorsum like that of a Squirrel. Information technology is more white than black; and, at the offset glance, you lot would say, especially when it walks, that information technology ought to exist chosen Jupiter's little domestic dog. But it is so stinking and casts so foul an smell, that information technology is unworthy of being called the canis familiaris of Pluto. No sewer ever smelled and then bad. I would not take believed it if I had non smelled information technology myself. Your centre near fails you when you approach the creature; two have been killed in our courtroom, and several days afterward there was such a dreadful odor throughout our firm that we could non endure information technology. I believe the sin smelled by Saint Catherine de Sienne must accept had the same vile odor.^[v]

In Southern United States dialect, the term polecat is sometimes used as a vernacular nickname for a skunk,^[6] even though polecats are simply distantly related to skunks.

Every bit a verb, skunk is used to draw the act of overwhelmingly defeating an opponent in a game or contest. Skunk is also used to refer to certain strong-smelling strains of marijuana whose odour has been compared to that of a skunk'south spray.

Description [edit]

Skunk species vary in size from about xv.six to 37 in (40 to 94 cm) long and in weight from nearly 1.1 lb (0.50 kg) (spotted skunks) to 18 lb (8.2 kg) (hog-nosed skunks). They have moderately elongated bodies with relatively short, well-muscled legs and long front claws for digging. They have v toes on each human foot.

Back left foot of an albino skunk

Although the about common fur color is black and white, some skunks are brown or grey and a few are cream-colored. All skunks are striped, even from nativity. They may have a unmarried thick stripe across the back and tail, two thinner stripes, or a series of white spots and broken stripes (in the example of the spotted skunk).

Behavior [edit]

A skunk in Ontario, Canada

Skunks are crepuscular and lone animals when not breeding, though in the colder parts of their range, they may gather in communal dens for warmth. During the solar day they shelter in burrows, which they tin dig with their powerful front claws. For almost of the year the normal domicile range for skunks is 0.five to ii.0 miles in diameter, with males expanding during breeding season to travel 4 to five miles per night.^[seven]

Skunks are not true hibernators in the wintertime, but do den upwards for extended periods of time. However, they remain generally inactive and feed rarely, going through a dormant phase.^[viii] Over winter, multiple females (equally many every bit 12) huddle together; males oft den solitary. Oftentimes, the same wintertime den is repeatedly used.

Although they have excellent senses of smell and hearing, they have poor vision, being unable to encounter objects more than than about 3 m (10 ft) away, making them vulnerable to expiry by road traffic. They are short-lived; their lifespan in the wild can reach seven years, with most living but upward to a yr.^{[ix] [10]} In captivity, they may live for up to x years.^{[nine] [10]}

Reproduction [edit]

Skunks mate in early on leap and are polygynous (that is, successful males are uninhibited from mating with additional females.)

Before giving birth (normally in May), the female excavates a den to business firm her litter of four to seven kits.

Skunks are placental, with a gestation period of virtually 66 days.^[11]

When born, skunk kits are blind and deaf, just already covered by a soft layer of fur. Virtually iii weeks after birth, they first open their eyes; the kits are weaned virtually two months later on birth. They by and large stay with their female parent until they are ready to mate, roughly at one year of age.

The mother is protective of her kits, spraying at whatever sign of danger. The male plays no part in raising the young.^[12]

Diet [edit]

Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and creature textile and changing their diets as the seasons change. They swallow insects, larvae, earthworms, grubs, rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles, and eggs. They also commonly eat berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi and nuts.

In settled areas, skunks also seek garbage left by humans. Less often, skunks may be found acting equally scavengers, eating bird and rodent carcasses left past cats or other animals. Pet owners, particularly those of cats, may feel a skunk finding its fashion into a garage or basement where pet food is kept. Skunks usually dig holes in lawns in search of grubs and worms.

Skunks utilize their long claws to break apart rotting logs to detect bugs that live within them. They also use those claws to aid dig for insects, which leaves behind pits, which are easy signs of foraging. The claws also help with pining down live and active casualty. ^[thirteen]

Skunks are i of the chief predators of the honeybee, relying on their thick fur to protect them from stings. The skunk scratches at the front of the beehive and eats the guard bees that come out to investigate.^[14] Mother skunks are known to teach this behavior to their young.

Spray [edit]

Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) in a defensive posture with erect and puffed tail, indicating its readiness to spray.

Skunks are notorious for their anal scent glands, which they can utilise as a defensive weapon. They are similar to, though much more than developed than, the glands found in species of the family Mustelidae. Skunks have two glands, one on each side of the anus. These glands produce the skunk's spray, which is a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals such as thiols (traditionally called mercaptans), which take an offensive odor. The thiols also make their spray highly flammable.^{[15] [16]} A skunk'south spray is powerful plenty to ward off bears and other potential attackers.^[17] Muscles located next to the scent glands permit them to spray with a high caste of accuracy, as far equally 3 grand (10 ft).^[18] The spray tin can too crusade irritation and even temporary blindness, and is sufficiently powerful to exist detected by a human nose upward to five.6 km (3.v miles) downwind.^[19] Their chemical defense is constructive, every bit illustrated by this excerpt from Charles Darwin's 1839 volume The Voyage of the Beagle:

Nosotros saw likewise a couple of Zorrillos, or skunks—odious animals, which are far from uncommon. In general appearance, the Zorrillo resembles a polecat, merely it is rather larger and much thicker in proportion. Witting of its power, it roams by 24-hour interval about the open patently and fears neither canis familiaris nor man. If a domestic dog is urged to the assail, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on vehement sickness and running at the nose. Whatever is once polluted by it, is forever useless. Azara says the smell tin can exist perceived at a league altitude; more than once, when entering the harbour of Monte Video, the wind beingness offshore, we take perceived the odour onboard the Beagle. Certain it is, that every animal well-nigh willingly makes room for the Zorrillo.^[20]

Skunks conduct just enough for five or 6 successive sprays – about 15 cm³ – and crave upwardly to ten days to produce another supply.^[21] Their assuming black and white coloration makes their advent memorable. It is to a skunk's advantage to warn possible predators off without expending smell: black and white aposematic alarm coloration aside, threatened skunks will get through an elaborate routine of hisses, human foot-stamping, and tail-loftier deimatic or threat postures before resorting to spraying. Skunks usually do non spray other skunks, except among males in the mating flavor. If they fight over den space in autumn, they do so with teeth and claws.^[22]

Well-nigh predators of the Americas, such as wolves, foxes, and badgers, seldom attack skunks, presumably out of fear of being sprayed. The exceptions are reckless predators whose attacks fail once they are sprayed, dogs, and the smashing horned owl,^[23] which is the skunk'due south merely regular predator.^[24] In one case, the remains of 57 striped skunks were found in a single great horned owl nest.^[25]

Skunks are mutual in suburban areas. Frequent encounters with dogs and other domestic animals, and the release of the smell when a skunk is run over, take led to many misconceptions about the removal of skunk olfactory property, including the pervasive idea that tomato plant juice will neutralize the smell. These household remedies are ineffective, and but appear to piece of work due to olfactory fatigue.^[26] The Humane Society of the United States recommends treating dogs using a mixture of dilute hydrogen peroxide (3%), baking soda, and dishwashing liquid.^[27]

Skunk spray is composed mainly of iii low-molecular-weight thiol compounds, (E)-2-butene-ane-thiol, three-methyl-1-butanethiol, and 2-quinolinemethanethiol, as well equally acetate thioesters of these.^{[28] [29] [xxx] [31] [32]} These compounds are detectable by the human nose at concentrations of merely 11.three parts per billion.^{[33] [34]}

Relations with humans [edit]

Bites [edit]

It is rare for a healthy skunk to bite a human, though a tame skunk whose olfactory property glands have been removed (commonly on behalf of those who will keep information technology equally a pet) may defend itself by bitter. There are, however, few recorded incidents of skunks biting humans. Skunk bites in humans can result in infection with the rabies virus. The Centers for Affliction Control (CDC) recorded ane,494 cases of rabies in skunks in the United States for the year 2006—virtually 21.5% of reported cases in all species.^{[35] [36]} Skunks in fact are less prominent than raccoons equally vectors of rabies. (However, this varies regionally in the United States, with raccoons dominating forth the Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, while skunks instead predominate throughout the Midwest, including the western Gulf, and in California.)

As pets [edit]

Mephitis mephitis, the striped skunk, is the near social skunk and the one most commonly kept as a pet. In the US, skunks can legally be kept as pets in 17 states.^[37] When a skunk is kept as a pet, its scent glands are often surgically removed.^[37]

A pet albino skunk on a walk

In the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, skunks can be kept as pets,^[38] but the Animal Welfare Act 2006 fabricated information technology illegal to remove their aroma glands.^[39]

See also [edit]

• List of fictional musteloids
• Skunk oil

References [edit]

1. ^ "Old World skunk". Retrieverman.net. ii Nov 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
2. ^ Wilson, D. Due east.; Reeder, D. Chiliad., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the Globe: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
3. ^ "skunk (n.)". Online Etymology Lexicon. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
4. ^ Harper, Douglas. "skunk". Online Etymology Lexicon.
5. ^ Thwaites, Reuben Gold, ed. (1633–1634). The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New French republic 1610—1791. Vol. 6. Quebec. Archived from the original on xv December 2001.
6. ^ "Skunk Fact Sheet" (PDF). The Georgia Department of Natural Resource Wildlife Resources Sectionalization.
7. ^ Brittingham, Margaret (23 June 2006). "Skunks - Solutions to Mutual Problems". PennState Extension. {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
8. ^ "Striped Skunk | Adirondack Ecological Center | SUNY ESF | College of Environmental Science and Forestry". www.esf.edu . Retrieved iv December 2022.
9. ^ ^{a b} ADW: Mephitis mephitis: Data. Animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu. Retrieved on v April 2012.
10. ^ ^{a b} Virtual Nature Trail. Striped Skunk. The Pennsylvania State Academy (2002).
11. ^ "Skunks Management Guidelines". Ipm.ucdavis.edu.
12. ^ "Eastern Spotted Skunk". Missouri Department of Conservation . Retrieved 23 February 2019.
13. ^ "Striped Skunk | Adirondack Ecological Center | SUNY ESF | College of Ecology Science and Forestry". www.esf.edu . Retrieved vi December 2022.
14. ^ Apr (8 March 2022). "Do Skunks Eat Bees? (If Yeah, Why Practise They?)". Exploration Squared . Retrieved 4 December 2022.
15. ^ "18 Interesting Facts Virtually Skunks". Wildlife Informer.
16. ^ "Is That Skunk? Skunk Spray Chemistry". Nature.
17. ^ "Inquire a Bear: Skunk Spray every bit Deterrent?". iv May 2011.
18. ^ "Skunks: Notorious—or Not?Skunks: Notorious—or Non?". National Wild fauna Federation . Retrieved half-dozen December 2022.
19. ^ "nineteen Stinky Skunk Facts". Fact Animate being . Retrieved six December 2022.
20. ^ Darwin, Charles (1839). Voyage of the Beagle. London, England: Penguin. ISBN0-14-043268-10 . Retrieved 27 June 2006.
21. ^ Biology and Command of Skunks. Agronomics and Rural Development. Government of Alberta, Canada. 1 June 2002
22. ^ "Exercise Skunks Fight Each Other?". world wide web.wildlife-removal.com . Retrieved 6 December 2022.
23. ^ "Oregon Zoo Animals: Corking Horned Owl". Oregonzoo.org. Archived from the original on xix March 2012. Retrieved 9 Feb 2012.
24. ^ "Neat Horned Owl". The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
25. ^ Hunter, Luke (2011). Carnivores of the Earth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Academy Printing. ISBN978-0-691-15228-8. ^{[ page needed ]}
26. ^ Is it true that tomato plant sauce volition get rid of the scent of a skunk?. Scienceline. Retrieved on 5 April 2012.
27. ^ "De-skunking your canis familiaris". The Humane Gild of the The states.
28. ^ Andersen G. K.; Bernstein D. T. (1978). "Some Chemical Constituents of the Scent of the Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)". Journal of Chemical Environmental. 1 (4): 493–499. doi:x.1007/BF00988589. S2CID 9451251.
29. ^ Andersen Yard. M.; Bernstein D. T. (1978). "1-Butanethiol and the Striped Skunk". Journal of Chemic Teaching. 55 (3): 159–160. Bibcode:1978JChEd..55..159A. doi:10.1021/ed055p159.
30. ^ Andersen G. G.; Bernstein D. T.; Caret R. L.; Romanczyk L. J. Jr. (1982). "Chemic Constituents of the Defensive Secretion of the Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis)". Tetrahedron. 38 (thirteen): 1965–1970. doi:10.1016/0040-4020(82)80046-10.
31. ^ Wood Westward. F.; Sollers B. G.; Dragoo Grand. A.; Dragoo J. W. (2002). "Volatile Components in Defensive Spray of the Hooded Skunk, Mephitis macroura". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 28 (9): 1865–seventy. doi:x.1023/A:1020573404341. PMID 12449512. S2CID 19217201.
32. ^ Wood, William F. "Chemistry of Skunk Spray". Dept. of Chemistry, Humboldt State University. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
33. ^ Wood, William F. (1999). "The History of Skunk Defensive Secretion Research" (PDF). Chem. Educator. iv (2): 44–50. doi:10.1007/s00897990286a. S2CID 94181805. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2003.
34. ^ Aldrich, T.B. (1896). "A chemical study of the secretion of the anal glands of mephitis mephitica (mutual skunk), with remarks on the physiological properties of this secretion". J. Exp. Med. i (ii): 323–340. doi:x.1084/jem.1.two.323. PMC2117909. PMID 19866801.
35. ^ Blanton J.D.; Hanlon C.A.; Rupprecht C.E. (2007). "Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2006". Journal of the American Veterinarian Medical Association. 231 (iv): 540–56. doi:10.2460/javma.231.4.540. PMID 17696853. ; Updated in Dyer JL, Yager P, Orciari 50, Greenberg Fifty, Wallace R, Hanlon CA, Blanton JD (2014). "Rabies surveillance in the The states during 2013". J Am Vet Med Assoc. 245 (10): 1111–23. doi:10.2460/javma.245.10.1111. PMC5120391. PMID 25356711.
36. ^ "Rabies Surveillance Usa 2006" (PDF). U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
37. ^ ^{a b} "Is That Skunk? | Do Skunks Make Good Pets?". PBS. 20 November 2008.
38. ^ "A stink in the tale: Why Britain is swooning over the pet with a pong". The Independent. 23 April 2011.
39. ^ "Animate being Welfare Act 2006" (PDF) . Retrieved 5 December 2009.

External links [edit]

• Skunk at Curlie
• Skunks and the management of skunk harm Archived xiii Nov 2016 at the Wayback Machine

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk

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