Skunks (Mephitidae)
Skunks are legendary for their powerful predator-deterrent—a hard-to-remove, horrible-smelling spray. A skunk’s spray is an oily liquid produced by glands under its large tail. To employ this scent bomb, a skunk turns around and blasts its foe with a foul mist that can travel as far as ten feet (three meters). Although the most common fur color is black and white, some skunks are brown or grey and a few are cream-colored. All skunks are striped, even from birth. They may have a single thick stripe across back and tail, two thinner stripes, or a series of white spots and broken stripes.
- Weight: 2.2 – 4.5kg (5 – 10 pounds)
- Length: 40 – 79 cm (15.6 – 31 inches)
- Height: 17 – 25cm (7 – 10inch)
- Life span: 2 – 4 years
- Diet: fruit, plants, insects, larvae, worms, eggs, reptiles, small mammals, fish.
- No. offspring: 2 – 10
- Gestation: 66 days
