Pepe Le Pew came calling last night. For those of you who didn't grow up on Saturday morning cartoons, Pepe was an amorous skunk with a thing for a black and white kitty cat. I don't have a cat, but my guest last night loved all the flower pots right off my front porch.
We have two varieties of skunks here in California. The spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis) is strictly nocturnal, while the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is more likely to be seen scuttling about with its characteristic loping gait or dead on the road. Skunks have very poor vision, which explains why they are so often hit by cars.
Besides automobiles, skunks fall victim to mountain lions, coyotes, badgers, foxes, bobcats, and great horned owls. It turns out that large owls have little sense of smell. Interestingly, skunks are immune to certain toxins, including snake venom and bee stings. They can wreak havoc in a bee yard, which is why beekeepers often place their hives on stands.
The skunk's diet consists of fruit, seeds, insects, rodents, reptiles, and eggs. They become more of a nuisance when they go after your trash cans or the food you leave out for your feral cats. In California, skunks are one of the most common carriers of rabies. They are also vectors for leptospirosis, listeriosis, canine distemper, canine hepatitis, and tularemia; not exactly the visitors you want drinking from your pet's outdoor water bowl. As a positive, they can keep down insect and rodent populations.
A skunk's spray can reach up to 15 feet and is very accurate. But skunks prefer to run rather than fight. They will usually give a warning before spraying by stamping their forefeet, hissing, and arching their tail over their back. If your dog doesn't take the hint, a solution of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid dish soap will cut the stench. Don't put this mixture in a closed container because the chemicals will react and explode.
Skunks breed from late January through March, with a gestation period averaging 63 days. They will use burrows abandoned by other animals or brush piles and culverts. If you're very unfortunate, they may choose to start their family under your deck or raised building. A litter of four to eight young is born in May or early June and weaned by two months old. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few months for the emergence of cute stinky youngsters.
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