Skunks are mammals best known for the strong and terrible odor they spray. They are found predominately in North, Central and South America, but two of the eleven species of skunks are found in Indonesia and the Philippines. They come in many different colors from white to black, including shades of gray and brown and their fur has different patterns that make each skunk distinct. Skunks can have their scent glands removed, which makes it easier for them to be domesticated and kept as pets.
Identification
Skunks most commonly sport black and white fur, but many skunks are also found in brown, gray, cream, and sometimes even white. They are all born with a pattern of stripes, sometimes having one or two, or a splotched mixture of broken stripes and spots. Usually these run down the skunk's back, but striped patters are also sometimes found on the legs, snout and head. They run in a range of sizes from 15 to 37 inches and usually weigh anywhere between 1 pound, in the case of spotted skunks, and 18 pounds, regarding hog-nosed skunks. A skunk's body is long and they have short legs with claws.
Type
There are eleven different species of skunks, and they are classified in different scientific genera. The Conepatus genus is made up of the hog-nosed skunks and has the most species of skunk, five. They are the American, Western, Striped, Molina's, and Humboldt's Hog-nosed skunks. The genus Mephitis contains the Striped skunk and the Hooded skunk. There are two types of spotted skunks, Eastern and Western, which are part of the genus Spilogale. Finally, there is the genus Mydaus, which includes the Palawan and Javan Stink skunks.
Geography
Nine out of the eleven species of skunks are found in the Americas, ranging from Canada to South America and everywhere in between. Common skunks inhabit the lands closest to waterways where vegetation and food is abundant. Mountain slopes and canyons are also home to skunk populations. The two species of Stink skunks are not found in North America, but instead in Indonesia and the Philippines. They can be found commonly in the grasslands of these countries.
Features
Skunks have one distinguishing feature that is both well known, and well feared, in the animal kingdom. It is the pair of glands located on either side of the skunk's anus that contains a mixture of sulfurous chemicals. A skunk can spray this solution as far as 7 to 15 feet when he feels threatened. The mixture has the odor of rotten eggs or burnt rubber and can be sensed as far as a mile away upwind. Because of the additional stinging the mixture produces and the temporary blindness in some animals, the skunk has few natural predators who actively hunt them.
Significance
In the wild, skunks have few natural predators, and they instill fear even in animals such as foxes, wild dogs, and sometimes even bears because of their powerful stink glands. They are one of the only natural predators of honeybees, which helps to keep that species in check.
Skunks are also significant because of their appeal as pets, dating back to when to when the first Spanish settlers came to the Americas. These men saw that the Native American population was keeping skunks as pets and probably as guard animals. Pilgrims in the northeast also kept skunks as pets. Today, skunks are regularly kept as pets because it is easy to have the scent glands removed. The procedure to do so is painless. In the UK it is legal to own them, though the U.S. has regulations set in place and it is not legal in every state.
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