If you are startled by a black animal with white stripes, it may be a skunk. It will dash away from you, because it's afraid. If you go away, it will be harmless. If you don't, it will use warning signals before spraying. So, if you are sensitive, you will escape. The spray smells like strong ammonia, garlic, burning sulfur, sewer gas and perfume musk all mixed together. The skunks glands only hold one tablespoon of musk, for at least 5 or 6 sprays a week. It warns its enemies before spraying its smell!! It lowers its head and hisses and growls. It stamps its front feet one at a time. It rocks the ground with its long claws, like a miniature bull. Finally it waves its bushy tail for its last warning signal. If the warnings do not scare its enemy away, it gets ready to spray. It arches its back, then it lifts its tail and bends its body sideways so that its head and tail, both point toward the enemy. Squirt!! It lets its spray from its tail glands. It lifts its tail high, to keep the scent off of its body. 

Skunks eat a wide variety of food. It can eat crickets, grasshoppers, grubs, cutworms, fish, small birds, eggs, mice, weevils, spiders, caterpillars, fruit, raccoons, and sometimes its enemies. But they rarely eat enemies, unless they are its size. They live all over North America except in Alaska.They are the most common of all skunks in North America. They have very few enemies, such as the great horned owl, coyote, fox, badger and fisher. Its most dangerous enemy is the great horned owl. It can swoop down on its back, snatching it so hard that it's critically hurt. After a attack they have 10% of a chance of staying alive.

They start mating during warm weather in late February or early March. To find a mate, a male skunk will wander through its own territory, traveling several kilometers a night. Two males will sometimes fight over the same female, but will rarely spray at each other. One male usually mates

with several females. In early spring a female skunk gives birth to four or six babies in a peaceful den. One mother gave birth to 18 babies in one litter. That's the record! Babies weigh 28 grams (1 ounce) each one measures 10 centimeters (4 inches) from the tip of their nose to the end of their tail. They are born deaf and blind. They spend their early days in the den with their mother. They drink their mother's milk. At one week old, its weight is doubled. At three weeks old, they are crawling around the den. They cannot spray musk until 6 or 7 weeks old.

Skunks belongs to the weasel family, including the river otter, mink, fisher, ermine and wolverine. It's the size of a house cat. But has shorter legs. The scientific name for them is Mepitis mephitis. This is the Latin word for terrible smell terrible smell.

I got my information from Nature's Children, SKUNKS by Laima Dingwall.

You're going over to spend the night at a friend's house.You smell a musky smell and go blind for a minute and the skin around your face burns. If that happens, you probably got sprayed by a striped skunk. Before it sprays it will act like a mini bull. It will stomp its feet and scratch the ground. When it gets annoyed: Ready.....Aim.....Spray!It can spray 23 feet but 6 and a half feet accurately.

It eats beetles, grasshoppers, and turtle eggs. Also it eats snake eggs and small reptiles. The striped skunk is an omnivore. If it hears an animal it will pounce on it. If it lives near a swamp or farm it eats frogs, minnows, snakes, lizards, crayfish, fruit, leaves, grains, corn and barley. It is 25 to 40 inches long. The striped skunk is nocturnal. The stripes mean stay away. The striped skunks relatives are river otter, sea otter, mink, fisher, ermine, wolverine and other skunks.

Babies are born blind and deaf. They have 34 razor sharp teeth. The enemies are great horned owl, coyote, badger and fisher. The striped skunk can run nine miles per hour. But normally it waddles slowly. I hope you learned alot.

I got my information from SKUNKS by Laima Dingwall.

If you smell something in the morning of a summer day that is sort of musky that leads under your house, it may be a skunk. Do you see any fruit pieces or parts of insects, then it could be a skunk. Skunks like to eat crickets, grasshoppers, grubs, cutworms, weevils, spiders, caterpillars and fruit. Don't worry skunks are nocturnal. That means they sleep at day and are awake at night. They only raise their tail and spray you when you scare them. Some scientists say the black and white fur coat is a warning for animals to back off. Even so, the skunk has predators: owls, eagles, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, cougars, and fishers. Sometimes badgers go into skunk dens and kill sleeping skunks. Did you know a male can be up to 64 inches (81 cm)long? 25 to 30 centimeters of that is the tail. They like being underground until winter. Then they like dens. The skunk likes to be near a pasture. Skunks are related to otters, weasels, minks, and badgers. They are in the mustelid family. They all have musk glands, but only skunks use musk glands. The spotted skunk is harder to find than the striped skunk. Skunks are color blind, but they can see very well at night.

I got my info from this book, THE STRIPED SKUNK by Carl R. Green and William R. Sanford.