might be surprised to learn that skunks don’t spray their noxious scent cavalierly. According to Skunks Scentral’s counselor Nina Simone,
Skunks only spray as a form of defense. It is the last action they will take when frightened. Each skunk has its own level of what degree of fear will trigger a spray. Some will stomp three times as a warning before “firing,” which will give the “perpetrator” a chance to depart.
What exactly happens when a skunk sprays? We asked Jerry Dragoo, interim curator of mammals at the Museum of Southwestern Biology in Albuquerque, who is quite the mephitologist (an expert on bad smells):
A skunk’s scent glands are at the base of the tail on either side of the rectum. The glands are covered by a smooth muscle layer that is controlled by a direct nerve connection to the brain. The decision to spray is a conscious one. The smooth muscle makes a slight contraction to force the liquid through ducts connected to nipples just inside the anal sphincter, which is everted [turned inside out] to expose the nipples. The nipples can be aimed toward the target.
When a skunk is being chased by a “predator” and is not exactly sure where the pursuer is located, the skunk, while running away will emit a cloud of spray in an atomized mist. The mist is light and takes a while to settle to the ground. A predator would run through this cloud and pick up the scent and usually stop pursuit. I call this the “shotgun approach.”
When the skunk is cornered or knows exactly where the predator is located, it emits the liquid in a stream that usually is directed toward the face. This intense spray will sting and temporarily blind the predator. I call this the “.357 Magnum approach.”
Perhaps cartoons aren’t far off the mark. Dragoo’s description of the “shotgun approach” is not unlike Pépé le Pew’s “cloud of stink bomb” method of foiling enemies.
But does the spray repulse other skunks? Our experts agree: “Yes.” Simone mentioned that when other skunks smell a whiff, they become agitated. It is unclear whether this is a chemical reaction to the smell, or if it signals danger to them. She compared skunks’ uneasy behavior when they smell other skunks’ sprays to “a dog before an earthquake.”
Considering that skunks don’t like the smell of other skunks, it’s surprising that they don’t use their “weapon” more often during “intramural” battles. One skunk expert e-mailed us:
Skunks actually don’t like the smell of skunk, either, and unless one is accidentally in the line of fire, it would never get sprayed by another skunk. It’s kind of like a skunk pact that they won’t spray each other.
If only humans were as accommodating!
But seriously, folks, we must delve into the seamier side of skunk behavior, for internecine spraying isn’t that unusual. The most common perpetrators of skunk-on-skunk abuse are juveniles. Janis Grant, vice president of North Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitators, wrote us:
The only situation in which I have observed skunks exchanging liquid insults has been when I have mixed different litters of young skunks together. They proceed to have a “fire-at-will stink-off” for about four to six minutes, including growls, chirps, and foot stomping, then gradually settle down to cohabitation. I can’t say if this is to establish alpha status or just to make everybody smell the same, but none of them runs away from the encounters — they just spray a few times, retire to their corners, and let it go.
Dragoo notes that just as juveniles display the stomp, chirp, and spray behavior, sometimes a weaker skunk will spray a stronger young rival “if it feels it is being bullied.” But they have been known to spray unknown adult skunks, too, “because adult males are known to kill young skunks.”
Dragoo describes skunks’ reaction to being sprayed as “the same behavior as other animals when they are sprayed”:
They will slide their face on
Skunks only spray as a form of defense. It is the last action they will take when frightened. Each skunk has its own level of what degree of fear will trigger a spray. Some will stomp three times as a warning before “firing,” which will give the “perpetrator” a chance to depart.
What exactly happens when a skunk sprays? We asked Jerry Dragoo, interim curator of mammals at the Museum of Southwestern Biology in Albuquerque, who is quite the mephitologist (an expert on bad smells):
A skunk’s scent glands are at the base of the tail on either side of the rectum. The glands are covered by a smooth muscle layer that is controlled by a direct nerve connection to the brain. The decision to spray is a conscious one. The smooth muscle makes a slight contraction to force the liquid through ducts connected to nipples just inside the anal sphincter, which is everted [turned inside out] to expose the nipples. The nipples can be aimed toward the target.
When a skunk is being chased by a “predator” and is not exactly sure where the pursuer is located, the skunk, while running away will emit a cloud of spray in an atomized mist. The mist is light and takes a while to settle to the ground. A predator would run through this cloud and pick up the scent and usually stop pursuit. I call this the “shotgun approach.”
When the skunk is cornered or knows exactly where the predator is located, it emits the liquid in a stream that usually is directed toward the face. This intense spray will sting and temporarily blind the predator. I call this the “.357 Magnum approach.”
Perhaps cartoons aren’t far off the mark. Dragoo’s description of the “shotgun approach” is not unlike Pépé le Pew’s “cloud of stink bomb” method of foiling enemies.
But does the spray repulse other skunks? Our experts agree: “Yes.” Simone mentioned that when other skunks smell a whiff, they become agitated. It is unclear whether this is a chemical reaction to the smell, or if it signals danger to them. She compared skunks’ uneasy behavior when they smell other skunks’ sprays to “a dog before an earthquake.”
Considering that skunks don’t like the smell of other skunks, it’s surprising that they don’t use their “weapon” more often during “intramural” battles. One skunk expert e-mailed us:
Skunks actually don’t like the smell of skunk, either, and unless one is accidentally in the line of fire, it would never get sprayed by another skunk. It’s kind of like a skunk pact that they won’t spray each other.
If only humans were as accommodating!
But seriously, folks, we must delve into the seamier side of skunk behavior, for internecine spraying isn’t that unusual. The most common perpetrators of skunk-on-skunk abuse are juveniles. Janis Grant, vice president of North Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitators, wrote us:
The only situation in which I have observed skunks exchanging liquid insults has been when I have mixed different litters of young skunks together. They proceed to have a “fire-at-will stink-off” for about four to six minutes, including growls, chirps, and foot stomping, then gradually settle down to cohabitation. I can’t say if this is to establish alpha status or just to make everybody smell the same, but none of them runs away from the encounters — they just spray a few times, retire to their corners, and let it go.
Dragoo notes that just as juveniles display the stomp, chirp, and spray behavior, sometimes a weaker skunk will spray a stronger young rival “if it feels it is being bullied.” But they have been known to spray unknown adult skunks, too, “because adult males are known to kill young skunks.”
Dragoo describes skunks’ reaction to being sprayed as “the same behavior as other animals when they are sprayed”:
They will slide their face on
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