I can’t think of an animal that I would LESS like to have in my house than a spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis). OK well maybe I can – possibly a rattlesnake, and definitely a black bear would rank lower. Oh and I don’t want elephant seals inside either, although those don’t come up here that often from the flood retention basins where they hang out eating the salmon and abalone I stocked down there.
Anyway, the skunk, while very beautifully marked and extremely cute, inspires formidable fear and respect given its nauseating odoriferous powers. I was sitting here reading FB posts and eating provolone cheese and blackberries when I heard a noise in my closet. Thinking it was the wind blowing the front door open, I stood up to close it and was jolted by the sight of the banner-like gray tail as the skunk rooted around looking for crickets or something behind the vacuum cleaner. Knowing that it was best to allow the skunk to leave voluntarily rather than forcibly, I slid over to the doorway and opened it wide, grabbing the camera along the way. I snapped these shots of a skunk covered in dust bunnies and spiderwebs (it’s a closet! don’t judge me!) exploring this fancy new environment which it’s never been in before. After about 3 minutes, the skunk peered out from behind my radio, scooted underneath the open door, and slipped into the night. I just hope the baboon troop stays outside now that this barrier has been broken.
This was the sight that greeted me as I got up, expecting to see nothing more than the door being blown open by a gust of wind. The raised tail is a warning signal, although in this case the skunk was preoccupied with finding stray insects to eat.
Spotted skunks have very beautiful markings. If they weren’t skunks, I’d dare say that the fashion industry would make clothing patterned after them as popular as they do with leopard-print fabrics. Note the dust bunnies and spiderwebs stuck to the skunk’s feet. No, I don’t vacuum out my closet regularly.
The skunk partially climbed up the rough papercrete wall before scrambling back down. I was nervous that if it fell it would become alarmed and spray someone. Namely me.
How a cute animal weighing just over a pound (1/2 kilogram) can inspire such anxiety in me is rather amazing. But we all know what they are capable of, so there you go.
There are 4 skunk species in the United States – the spotted skunk shown here; the striped skunk which is most familiar to most Americans across the country since it has the widest range; the hooded skunk which lives from Arizona to Texas; and the hognose skunk, which has a similarly southwestern range. Some taxonomists recognize both eastern and western populations of spotted skunks as separate species, although most treat them as subspecies of the same critter.
Skunk odor is actually multiple sulfur-based compounds blended into a potent foul mixture which is atomized upon spraying into the air in the direction of threats. Skunks have good aim and can look backwards to direct the stream of chemicals at the faces of their attackers, which results in an immediate and overpowering nausea, temporary blindness, and inability to breathe. It is an extremely effective defense and very few animals that have a skunk encounter will willingly endure another.
The various skunk species all have unique blends of chemicals, sometimes in different proportions and other times entirely different compounds, which means that each skunk species has a distinctive odor. Rest assured that all four species are notoriously foul and that none is likely to be considered “better” than any other. And setting aside the Pepe Le Pew jokes in the cartoons, it appears that skunks are not particularly fond of their own odors and will resist spraying in confined spaces where it will impact them just as much as another animal. This is why if you ever catch a skunk in a live trap (like I have done once or twice in the effort to control rodents) the smart course of action is to throw a covering over the trap before lifting and moving it. The skunk will feel too confined to spray and it will be much more likely that you can release it elsewhere without incident. The two times that I have caught a spotted skunk in a live trap I have not attempted to move it and instead carefully tipped the trap over onto its side and used a rake to open the door hatch, allowing the animal to wander out freely. So far, so good.
Spotted skunks (and presumably the others) sometimes perform a handstand on their front legs with hindquarters elevated beneath a banner-like tail. If you ever see a skunk in this position you need to back off immediately because a direct hit is about to arrive within a few seconds if you do not. Check out online videos of skunks doing this handstand maneuver – it’s quite interesting. My guess is that the handstand position evolved for several reasons. One is that it makes the skunk look larger and more formidable. Another is that it means the way is cleared for the skunk to aim the spray at a foe’s face more effectively, and a third is that it is a memorable warning signal that tells foes to back off or suffer the consequences. And while it might seem like the skunk is in a vulnerable position to attack while handstanding, evidently it has served the species’ survival well enough to have become an ingrained pattern of behavior.
Spotted skunks are the only true desert skunk, capable of surviving on rocky arid hills and desert flats long distances away from water sources. They can derive all of their moisture from their prey, although spotted skunks will drink free standing water if it is available. The other three species all require some source of open water nearby in order to survive, although they do live in deserts along watercourses and suburban areas. As omnivores, skunks eats a wide variety of foods. Spotted skunks subsist mainly upon arthropods and small vertebrates like lizards, but if they can catch birds or mice etc they surely will do so. As for being prey themselves, spotted skunks are small and can easily be taken by large raptors, especially great horned owls, which seem relatively immune to their chemical offenses. Aside from owls, spotted skunks are fairly safe from most other predator types.
Final note: These photos were taken on August 19, 2016, about two years ago. I originally posted this story on Facebook and when it cycled back through my “memories” feature I decided to copy that over to this blog along with some additional photos and text to make it a web-searchable blog entry. I hope that readers will find this useful and thanks for dropping by.
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The spotted skunk made an encore appearance tonight. Once again, I was sitting at the computer when I heard the scuffling sound of something behind me. This time I was expecting it to possibly be the skunk, which of course it was, raiding my compost bucket for peach pits. I got the camera but wasn’t able to get the settings right and the flash charged in time to get the animal in full view before it waddled off behind some flowerpots outside the front door to eat the pirated goodies. So I set the camera aside and returned to writing an upcoming article for the Cactus Journal, thinking that the odds were good that the skunk would return. It did indeed, but instead of going back to the compost bucket I found it temporarily trapped inside the plastic recycling bin. I snapped a few shots of it snuffling around amidst the discarded yogurt containers and scrabbling at the sides of the bin, and figured that if it couldn’t jump out that I’d have to carefully tip the bin over. Fortunately the skunk did escape on its own. Man, I really do need to get a screen onto that particular door, even though it might mean fewer amusing stories to tell. 
