Peaceful skunks have powerful defense
It's March and winter is gasping its last breath. You open your porch door to welcome the fresh air of spring.
A distinct and unmistakable aroma rises from under the deck - and soon you're the one gasping for breath. Skunk!
The fragrant presence of skunks is particularly noticeable at this time of year when the males are out and about looking for females. Humans who cross paths with skunks do not do not end up with a favorable impression of these native mammals.
The striped skunk is perhaps the most widely recognized animal in our Illinois fauna. Everyone seems to know what a black coat with white stripes means. Size-wise, the skunk is not a very big animal. A male is about the size of a house cat with short legs, weighing about 8 - 12 pounds. Females are smaller, weighing between 5 - 9 pounds.
A small mammal like this should be nothing to fear, right? But in this case, size doesn't matter. Musk does.
Musk is an oily liquid produced in glands under the skunk's tail. This musk is known as butylmercaptan which, according to chemist William Wood of Humboldt State University, comprises seven volatile components. These fall in two main groups of chemical compounds called thiols.
All this fancy chemistry means that skunk musk packs a potent punch. The smell can be detected up to 20 miles from the site of discharge. The unforgettable olfactory experience of skunk roadkill even inspired Louden Wainright III to write the song "Dead Skunk": "Take a whiff on me, that ain't no rose! Roll up yer window and hold yer nose. You don't have to look and you don't have to see 'cause you can feel it in your olfactory."
Why the odor?
Do skunks reek just to be ornery and mean? Not really. They'd rather go about their business peacefully and without interference.
Skunks have developed this chemical arsenal as a defensive measure. They don't see very well with those beady little eyes, so if an interloper comes along, the visually-impaired skunk instantly goes into defensive posture, giving an adamant warning to skedaddle. The warning is a quick faceoff whereby the skunk raises its tail and vigorously stomps his feet.
If this doesn't do the trick, the skunk resorts to plan B: firing its artillery. Whirling around, tail to opponent, the skunk shoots its acrid ammo. More often than not, the skunk's aim is true. A skunk can accurately hit the target from 10 to 20 feet away. The result is an intense, immediate, penetrating and persistent stench. If sprayed into the eyes, skunk musk can temporarily blind its victim.
How to deodorize
If you've been targeted, you have surely tried every means possible to deodorize. Some people make desperate attempts with tomato juice and concoctions thereof - leading to lots of stained clothing and carpets. The residual smell, however, is tenacious and tomato juice won't do the trick.
What's the most effective way to rid oneself (or one's dog) of this intensely obnoxious smell? The University of Illinois Extension service offers this tried-and-true recipe: "Mix one quart 3 percent hydrogen peroxide with one-quarter cup baking soda, and one teaspoon liquid soap. Do not add water." Douse the affected area - which could be clothing, skin, hair, fur - and give it some time to work.
Mating season
Chances are you'll see a skunk or two this month - hopefully from a distance. Amorous males are looking for their true love - or "loves." Skunks are polygamous and one male may mate with several females. By mid-March mating occurs, and in 62 - 66 days litters of four to eight perfumey little skunk kits will enter the world. Birthing occurs in the family den about two feet underground. Den sites in the wild are under logs, rocks, and brush. In suburban environments skunks find decks, porches, and sidewalks quite to their liking, as long as they can excavate a den underneath. Suburbia, in fact, offers great real estate. It's a buyer's market with good shelter, an abundance of food, and easy transport of goods and services.
The kits will venture out of the den with Mom in four to six weeks. Cute as a button, these little beasts are blessed with the gift of musk from the get-go. As soon as they can stand up, the little ones can stomp their feet, raise their tails and - just like Mom - fire away.
"They're little hellions come June," says a trapper friend of mine.
Why we love skunks
What good are these handsome but nauseatingly smelly animals? Skunks have been integral in American Indian cultures.
"Native American Indians used skunks for food, medicine, accessories in religious ceremonies, and as the subject of art and songs," wrote Diana Pederson in her article "Skunks" published in BellaOnline. "Chippewa Indians used oil from the skunk's skin as a treatment for internal worms. Other Native American Indian groups taught their children that their hair would turn white if they said anything disgusting about the skunk's odor. Various American Indian groups believed that a death would occur in their family if skunk built a nest under it."
Pioneers learned the medicinal value of skunk extracts, and skunk oil became a standard in the pharmacopeia of 19th and early 20th century America.
Elisabeth Janos interviewed old-timers and published a handy book called "Country Folk Medicine: Tales of Skunk Oil, Sassafras Tea and Other Old-time Remedies." Janos wrote that "skunk oil heads the list" of effective cold remedies.
One elder in her interviews recalled, "'For a cold, we'd put skunk oil and sugar on a teaspoon and down the hatch with that. It would cure a cold quicker than anything I've ever tried.'"
Skunk oil could also be rubbed on the chest to loosen congestion. "It was usually warmed before it was rubbed on," reported Janos, "and then covered over with a piece of flannel." Sometimes it was mixed with turpentine and camphor. I suspect that the admixture of scents alone could scare away the common cold.
Today, many people with discriminating noses begrudge skunks their very existence and skunks are considered nuisance animals in the suburbs. But skunks do play an important role as omnivores in our local ecology. They'll dine on carrion (stench being no object to the skunk, of course), eat spiders (including black widows), berries, mice and more.
Of particular note is that skunks have a penchant for insects that we consider pests. They savor yellow jackets, for example, and will dig up an entire colony at night and consume every last one.
According to Project Wild, "An estimated 70 percent of a skunk's diet consists of insects considered harmful to humans."
In turn, skunks are food for a select few predators, mainly great-horned owls (who, by the way, cannot smell). Automobiles are also "predators" of skunks as noted by the prevalence of fragrant flattened fauna on the road.
Skunks are without a doubt animals to avoid contact with. They are also animals to respect. When you see that tail go up and the little feet stamping, take heed. Put enough distance between you and the skunk, and then admire this handsome creature with the pungent role in ecology and culture.
• Naturalist Valerie Blaine and her dogs have been baptized by skunks and lived to tell the tale. If you have tales to share with her or questions about the wild kingdom in Kane County, e-mail Valerie at blainevalerie@kaneforest.com.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Fragrant facts</p> <p class="News">• The scientific name for the striped skunk is Mephitis mephitis, which means "double foul odor."</p> <p class="News">• The nickname for skunks is "polecat" in the South.</p> <p class="News">• Abraham Lincoln wrote, "What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself." </p> <p class="News">• Skunks are classified as fur-bearers and their pelts were once fashionable. "Fur-trimmed cloth coats developed in the late 1930s as our country recovered from the Great Depression," according to a report by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. </p> <p class="News">"Striped skunk is ideally suited for this purpose because the white hairs of the pelt become a uniform, glossy black when dyed. Skunk pelt prices ... doubled from about 1939 through the early 1940s." </p>