Acclaimed Wildlife Photographer and Writer, Dr. William J. Weber
Pepe Le Pew’s feline targets of affection may have rejected him for his smelliness and persistently amorous approach (plus the fact that he wasn’t really a cat) but the Looney Tunes skunk wasn’t the only one to get a bad rap. Many folks fear that the animals are roaming the countryside, looking for someone to spray.
That’s just the stuff of myth and cartoons, says Brent Womack, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division.
“Spraying is just a last-ditch effort at predator avoidance, or to try to change a potential predator’s mind. They don’t do it unless they feel like they need to,” he says. “It’s not something they are actively pursuing, but it is a very effective mechanism to get other animals to leave them alone.”
Two types of skunks live in the Blue Ridge area: the cat-size striped species and the smaller, less common spotted one. The truth is they don’t see well, especially at night when they’re foraging along fencerows, woodpiles and embankments.
“So they’re not going to be keying in on their use of vision to get around the world,” Womack points out. “They’re using their nose mostly and their sense of hearing as well.”
In fact, skunks tend to emit a milder version of their trademark, sulfur-based aroma all the time, which explains why some homeowners sniff out the critters that set up housekeeping under a house or other building. “It wouldn’t be as loud as if they had sprayed,” Womack notes. “But it’s around them, so they’re probably pretty blind to the smell and don’t really notice it.”
Unfortunately for the skunks, the same goes for their natural predators—barred, great horned and other large owls. The spray has no effect on the birds because of their poor sense of smell.
A skunk’s pre-spray posture is hard to ignore. Most of the time, it will turn around, do a handstand on its front feet, lift its hind legs and tail in the air, and release the foul secretion up to 15 feet away. The scent can travel for a mile.
Pets are more susceptible to getting sprayed than humans, Womack says. “Usually, when there’s an altercation between a skunk and a dog, the dog has started it and the skunk finishes it.”
One of the reasons Blue Ridge residents see—and smell—more dead skunks on the road in winter is because that’s when they’re mating.
“The males will be out roaming, looking for receptive females, and they’re covering more ground and have a little more of a one-track mind,” Womack says. “So they tend to get hit by vehicles more than they do other times of the year.”
The females generally give birth to their young in May and June, when food is abundant. Their preference for crickets, beetles and other insects, along with small rodents, helps keep the pest population in check.
So what can you do if the skunks become pests by burrowing under your house? Womack suggests throwing mothballs into the hole. Wild animals, including the stinky kind, don’t like the smell but the mothballs are harmless. Once the critters leave the nesting spot, close the entrance.
While all mammals can carry rabies, says Womack, just because you see a skunk in the daytime, especially if it’s behaving normally, doesn’t mean it’s rabid.
“Having said that, they are wild animals, so you always want to make sure children don’t try to interact with them, including a skunk. Put your dog up for the time being and respect its space.”
The story above appears in our March/April 2020 issue. For more subscribe today or log in to the digital edition with your active digital subscription. Thank you for your support!