Spotted Skunk

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Spotted Skunk

The spotted skunks are three species of Skunk

Skunk

Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to excrete a strong, foul-smelling #Anal scent glands. General appearance ranges from species to species from black and white to brown or cream colored....
in the genus Spilogale.

The Eastern Spotted Skunk
Eastern Spotted Skunk

The Eastern Spotted Skunk is a small, relatively slender skunk found throughout the eastern United States.This small skunk is more weasel-like in body shape than the more familiar Striped Skunk....
(Spilogale putorius) is smaller and more weasel

Weasel

Weasels are mammals in the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family .Originally, the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least Weasel ....
-like than the striped skunk

Skunk

Crepuscular

Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight"....
. The spotted skunks are faster and more agile than the striped skunks and they have better pelts. For the last 100 years, the Eastern Spotted Skunk was bred for its fine silky fur. The furs and pelts were sold as "Marten

Marten

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Encyclopedia

The spotted skunks are three species of Skunk

Skunk

Weasel

Skunk

Crepuscular

Marten

The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. They are slender, agile, animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere....
Fur."

Jerry Dragoo, in a 1997 paper co-authored by Rodney L. Honeycutt of Texas, named the new family classification Mephitidae after mephitis, the Latin word for a foul gas or smell.

The spotted skunks weigh between 1 and 3 pounds. They are black with a white spot on the forehead and interrupted white stripes over their backs and sides that give the appearance of spots.

They are often incorrectly called a "civet cat

Civet cat

Civet cat is an imprecise term that is used for a variety of cat-like creatures such as:*The Ring-tailed Cat or North American Civet Cat , related to the raccoons;...
"—a member of the genet

Genet (animal)

Genets are Old World carnivores of the family Viverridae, related to civets and linsangs. All species are contained within the genus Genetta, although the Aquatic Genet, is sometimes housed in its own genus Osbornictis....
family (Viverridae) with a long banded tail

Tail

The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals and birds....
similar to a raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most widespread species, the Raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are considerably lesser-known....
's—the two are not closely related.

Range

The Western Spotted Skunk

Western Spotted Skunk

The Western Spotted Skunk is a spotted skunk found throughout the western United States, northern Mexico, and southwestern British Columbia. The Western Spotted Skunk is smaller than the striped skunk....
(S. gracilis) occupies mostly lowland wooded areas in North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
, west of the Continental Divide

Continental Divide

The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Divide or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the drainage basin that drain into the Pacific Ocean from, 1) those river systems which drain into the Atlantic Ocean , and 2)...
from southern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's Provinces and territories of Canada and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ....
to Central America

Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
. The eastern species (S. putorius) is found opposite of the Divide in prairie and wooded areas south to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
but not as far east as the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The St. Lawrence River Great Lakes are a chain of fresh water lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada ? United States border. Consisting of Lakes Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth....
.

Defenses

Spotted skunks protect themselves by spraying a strong and unpleasant scent. Two glands on the sides of the anus release the odorous oil through nipples. When threatened, the skunk turns its body into a U-shape with the head and anus facing the attacker. Muscles around the nipples of the scent gland aim them, giving the skunk great accuracy on targets up to 15 feet away. As a warning before spraying, the skunk stamps its front feet, raises its tail, and hisses. They may warn with a unique "hand stand"—the back vertical and the tail waving.

Skunks store about 1 tablespoon (15 g) of the oderous oil and can quickly spray five times in row. It takes about one week to replenish the oil.

The secretion of the spotted skunks differs from that of the striped skunks. The two major thiol

Thiol

In organic chemistry, a thiol is a compound that contains the functional group composed of a sulfur atom and a hydrogen atom . Being the sulfur analogue of an alcohol group , this functional group is referred to either as a thiol group or a sulfhydryl group....
s of the striped skunks, (E)-2-butene-1-thiol and 3-methyl-1-butanethiol are the major components in the secretion of the spotted skunks along with a third thiol, 2-phenylethanethiol.

Thioacetate derivatives of the three thiols are present in the spray of the striped skunks but not the spotted skunks. They are not as odoriferous as the thiols. Water hydrolysis converts them to the more potent thiols. This chemical conversion may be why pets that have been sprayed by skunks will have a faint "skunky" odor on damp evenings.

Deodorizing

Changing the thiols into compounds that have little or no odor can be done by oxidizing the thiols to sulfonic acid

Sulfonic acid

Sulfonic acid usually refers to a member of the class of organic acids with the general formula R-S2-OH, where R is usually a hydrocarbon side chain....
s. Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a very pale blue liquid which appears colorless in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. It is a weak acid....
and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder....
) are mild enough to be used on people and animals but changes hair color.

Stronger oxidizing agents, like sodium hypochlorite

Sodium hypochlorite

Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the chemical formula NaClO. Sodium hypochlorite solution, commonly known as bleach, is frequently used as a disinfectant or a bleaching agent....
solutions—liquid laundry bleach—are cheap and effective for deodorizing other materials.

Growth

The female gives birth to between two and six young and she may have two litters per year.

The newborn skunks are covered with fine hair that shows the adult color pattern. The eyes open between 30 and 32 days. The kits start solid food at about 42 days and are weaned at about two months. They are full grown and reach adult size at about four months.

The males do not help in raising the young.

When grown, skunks live a solitary life. During the winter months, they may share dens. Skunks squabble and fight with each other, scratching and biting, but, interestingly, they do not spray each other.

Diet

Skunks are omnivorous

Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eating both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively....
and will eat small rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an Order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing Incisors#The_Rodent_incisor in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s, fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
s, berries

Berry

In everyday English, a berry is a broad term for any small edible fruit. Most berries are juicy, round or semi-oblong, brightly coloured, sweet or sour, and don't have a stone or pit....
, bird

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, eggs

Egg (biology)

In most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo....
, insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s and larvae

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
, lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
s, snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
s, and carrion. They have a keen sense of smell that helps them find grubs and other food. Their hearing is acute but they have poor vision.

Life expectancy

Spotted skunks can live 6 years in captivity, but in the wild, about half the skunks die after 1 or 2 years.

Skunks as pets

Skunks can be kept as pets in some states. For more information on skunk ownership, see Pet skunk

Pet skunk

A pet skunk is a skunk kept by humans for companionship and enjoyment. Although capable of living indoors with humans similarly to dogs or cats, pet skunks are relatively rare, partly due to restrictive laws and the complexity of their care....
.

Rabies

Skunks, like other wild mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s can contract and carry rabies

Rabies

Rabies is a virus zoonotic neurotropic virus disease that causes acute encephalitis in mammals. It is most commonly caused by a bite from an infected animal, but occasionally by other forms of contact....
. Fears of a skunk walking about in daylight being rabid are not justified since they are crepuscular

Crepuscular

Crepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight"....
and will sometimes come out during daylight for food.

Rabies surveillance report for 2001 finds an increase in the number of rabid skunks over raccoons. Yet most human infections do not come from skunks.

"Since 1990 [until 2001], 24 of 26 human cases of indigenously acquired rabies were associated, by genetic analysis, with variants of the rabies virus maintained by bats. Only 2 of these cases involved a report of a definite history of animal bite. The most likely route of infection remains transmission by bite during contact with a bat that either was ignored or unnoticed and subsequently forgotten." (Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2001, John W. Krebs, MS, Heather R. Noll, MPH, Charles E. Rupprecht, VMD, PhD, James E. Childs, ScD)

A skunk who bites a person, even a pet, will be killed and an autopsy performed to determine if the animal is rabid. If the animal is not caught the patient will undergo a series of preventive rabies shots.

Rabies vaccines for exposed humans were made from nerve tissue and had frequent serious adverse reactions. The cost of the vaccine was low but potency was inconsistent.

In 1983, a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein (V-RG) recombinant virus vaccine was developed that has proved effective in raccoons and other reservoir species. In 1992, Cornell University experimented with aerial distribution of oral vaccine to raccoons and found it extremely effective.

Vaccination programs have eliminated rabies in domestic dogs in the US. Skunks in the US remain a reservoir for the disease. Iceland, Japan and the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, are now considered free of rabies. Until 1995, Australia was considered to be rabies-free, but in 1996 a rabies-related lyssavirus (type 7) was discovered in flying foxes, a bat species.