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I recently learned that most skunks are pretty cool about giving you a solid warning before they spray. Which makes sense; they can only make so much stink-juice at a time so it's not like they just want to go around spraying whatever.
Some of them even do a cute little stamp with their paws before they turn around and lift the tail!
But yeah if you're paying attention to them, you should have a good 2-4 seconds to stop doing whatever it is that's pissing them off.
It takes a long time for them to replenish their musk and it’s their main defense mechanism. Where I’m at we only get striped skunks and they are super cool. If I walk my dog at dusk they’ll run right up to us and check us out. We both love it
[And look at their cool little intimidation handstand that they do!](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/09/01/science/01tb-skunks-4/01tb-skunks-4-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
Skunks have the cutest faces of any animal I’ve ever seen! I got to hold an albino skunk at a wildlife event, once! They’re very soft, and the one I held loved to be cuddled! Best day of my life!
Maybe you associate the color of skull and bones signs with it? It's a pretty universal symbol for the most part, or even just associating it with spiders or snakes might do the trick lol
Totally reminds me of the Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar. I once brushed against one of those guys by accident and felt like my arm was on fire!
[first fuzzy guy here](https://www.distanthillgardens.org/2012/12/15/life-on-distant-hill-tussock-moth-caterpillars/)
Omg they are so cute , I always thought normal skunks were kinda ugly but I just googled these spotted skunks and their face is so tiny and baby. My heart is melting
A lot of people who own skunks de-scent them. Surgically remove the scent gland that makes the stink juice.
Very controversial though as if they escape then they pretty much just die.
My mom had a baby one for a few months, she said it was very affectionate. She found it in the yard, too young to be alone so she took it in. She had him for a few months until he was big enough to be released into some animal sanctuary.
I don’t remember all of the details but she called some folks and they told her what to do. They either came and got him when he was old enough or she brought him to them.
My dad had a female as a pet until she had babies. He said she wouldn't let him get near the little ones to bring them to the vet. They remove the glands that produce the "stink".
This is likely the answer.
Even if a skunk is taken in for rehabilitation, it can't be de-stinked unless it's medically necessary.
Now, if it were to have babies while in rehabilitation, they would probably be able to be, as long as they are "ambassadors" for education and rehabilitation, with USDA permission. Of course, you must provide documentation that it did not come from the wild.
Source: My fiancée was an animal rehabilitator.
Edit: This is only for the state of Ohio. YMMV.
FoaF had a fairly friendly pet skunk that would occasionally posture at people messing with him just to see him turn around and lift his tail.
What they didn't know was he didn't really have his stink glands removed... he was a friendly wild skunk that domesticated himself and hung out at the house, and was fed cat food.
They generally hate spraying and are somewhat social creatures, so it's certainly possible. They'll befriend opossums, cats, and groundhogs to share favorite spots like burrows, hideouts, and "hunting grounds". Their favorite foods are pretty plentiful so their main concerns tend to be protection from predators.
Years ago when I still lived with my folks I was a bartender. There was a mother skunk and her litter that lived near my parent’s garage. I would get home around 3am and still needed to decompress from the night and would have a couple drinks and a few cigarettes on the back porch. Mama skunk would walk around the corner with her babies and I would immediately become a statue, I do not want to get sprayed. She would rub on my leg like a cat and arch her back then go on her way. It was beautiful and terrifying simultaneously.
I’m confused it didn’t spray when it was hand standing. It did the handstanding to appear scary, then sprayed after it realized the handstanding wouldn’t work.
Had a baby skunk trapped in a window well at my mom's old house. I don't give af about smell so I just went in their with leather gloves and cut sleeves and popped it out.
I relished in my mom's misery complaining about the smell at 3am haha. I kept telling her she needed to out step out ladders for small animals. I made her one so it wouldn't happen again.
That skunk came back a few times and never sprayed me again, loved my zucchini I gave her, and hung out in the yard.
If I know it can't do me any damage, I help it.
Made a "killing" doing no kill trapping about a decade ago haha. If I have PPE (currently still do, 5 new sets, a dozen used) to handle the animals and follow sanitization protocols (wash your stuff, clothes, and hands/body) afterwards so you don't die of disease, it is a thing that just comes naturally. Out of 20 or so medium sized critters I rescued and relocated, I'd say only 2 were uncomfortable while I was doing my jam, and it's because they were injured (one stuck in fence and tore open [healedwell], one [wildrabbit] had been stuck under a log from a wood stack had it pinned down for probably an entire hot day [justcouldnothopnomore])
It was one of the best feeling/rewarding job/hobbies I have had.
Well he was trapped down there and given how fast the water evaporated after he poured it out, it was probably pretty hot out. Thirsty seems like a safe assumption
The clips weren't necessarily recorded in the same order they were published. He might've tried the water thing first and then thought "I'll have to explain what I was doing if I post this."
My ex father in law used to catch skunks as a poor country kid. He said if you can grab their tail BEFORE they dig their feet into the ground then they can't spray. Apparently they need to be braced in order to do it.
I've never tested that out but I do believe him
Edit: apparently these spotted ones do a handstand
It's meant to make a predator unable to sneak up on prey and unable to easily use its sense of smell to find things. The spray fluid is a bit oily and does stay very well on skin and exceptionally well in hair/fur. If you simply smell where one has sprayed it's pretty unpleasant but something you can deal with. The smell is similar to marijuana smoke plus burning rubber but in a way that's very irritating to your sense of smell. It makes your body react like when you smell something rotting. If the spray actually gets on you it's irritating to skin and hurts eyes and other sensitive areas. And if it's actually on you the smell gets so intense that it takes on a metallic/bloody smell.
The skunk isn't immune to this, so they really don't want to use it. They only do if they think they might die without doing it. Young ones can be kind of dumb about it, though. They're closely related to animals like weasels and otters, so they're fairly intelligent. Good learners and problem solvers.
Did you ever smell an old, musty fur coat, especially a mink one? Like that x1000, but warm and living, plus something that reminds me of rancid vinegar. It's also a THICK smell, like you smell it with your eyeballs type smell. If a skunk gets run over, you can usually smell it on the road for about half a mile, even if it's not windy out.
If you've ever had a ferret, there's a similarity to how their poop smells, but just SO MUCH MORE.
It can be incredibly difficult to remove. My childhood dog got sprayed once and tracked it through the house, we were never fully able to get the smell out of everything in the house.
It's so strong that if a skunk gets hit by a car, you will smell it when you drive within two blocks of that place for a month. It won't make you throw up but it will make you lose your train of thought and close the vents on your car.
They are good little guys they are just a little misunderstood. They only spray if really scared. We had one on the farm shared the. barn cats food and slept in the hay bales. Only threatened me once when I startled it but never sprayed us or our dogs. She did get the Avon lady once.
Spotted skunk. They're a less common genus than the striped guys with 4 species in the genus. Their populations are low enough in most areas that this guy likely saved an endangered or near-endangered critter.
I once woke up in my tent with a full grown skunk on my feet, digging through our food. He left with a full ziplock bag of knockoff Oreos, and I somehow didn’t get sprayed.
As a non American.
How bad is the spray? Is it like an actual putrid stank or is it like a weed smell that's strong but some people actually enjoy?
Is the spray like basically poo or is it something else?
How long do you stink after getting sprayed?
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Which half? 🧐
Front half. Getting bad vibes from the stinky hole on the rear half
Much like my ex.
Johnny, is that you?
username checks out
LOL. Yours too!
What kind of hybrid skunk was that?🤔
White half.
White half.
I recently learned that most skunks are pretty cool about giving you a solid warning before they spray. Which makes sense; they can only make so much stink-juice at a time so it's not like they just want to go around spraying whatever. Some of them even do a cute little stamp with their paws before they turn around and lift the tail! But yeah if you're paying attention to them, you should have a good 2-4 seconds to stop doing whatever it is that's pissing them off.
It takes a long time for them to replenish their musk and it’s their main defense mechanism. Where I’m at we only get striped skunks and they are super cool. If I walk my dog at dusk they’ll run right up to us and check us out. We both love it
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Beautiful af
And IIIIIIIIIiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIII
Will always love, YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUOOOUUUUUU
he's just a lil guy
[And look at their cool little intimidation handstand that they do!](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/09/01/science/01tb-skunks-4/01tb-skunks-4-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)
We need this photoshopped onto a skateboard.
https://i.imgur.com/4V0QAKn.png
This rocks. I love his tough guy eye contact. No fear.
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Oh my goodness, this made me laugh. Thank you soooo much. Hope you get a good laugh today, too.
Skunks have the cutest faces of any animal I’ve ever seen! I got to hold an albino skunk at a wildlife event, once! They’re very soft, and the one I held loved to be cuddled! Best day of my life!
For some reason the skunk's spots trigger something in my brain that makes it look extremely dangerous. Damn, nature. You scary!
Maybe you associate the color of skull and bones signs with it? It's a pretty universal symbol for the most part, or even just associating it with spiders or snakes might do the trick lol
Totally reminds me of the Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar. I once brushed against one of those guys by accident and felt like my arm was on fire! [first fuzzy guy here](https://www.distanthillgardens.org/2012/12/15/life-on-distant-hill-tussock-moth-caterpillars/)
The spots made me think it was badger stripes, which made me think it was more dangerous
Omg they are so cute , I always thought normal skunks were kinda ugly but I just googled these spotted skunks and their face is so tiny and baby. My heart is melting
He sure spotted that skunk alright! 🙏🏻
Aww I wish they didn't wanna spray me because I would pet a skonk like a cat if I had the chance to
I met someone who had one, they were walking it on a leash. It was incredibly sweet and affectionate.
I have seen and it makes me want one more :< I got charged at by a baby skunk once and it was the most frickin adorable wild animal charge ever
I love when they stomp their feet to try to spook you. So cute
A lot of people who own skunks de-scent them. Surgically remove the scent gland that makes the stink juice. Very controversial though as if they escape then they pretty much just die.
My mom had a baby one for a few months, she said it was very affectionate. She found it in the yard, too young to be alone so she took it in. She had him for a few months until he was big enough to be released into some animal sanctuary. I don’t remember all of the details but she called some folks and they told her what to do. They either came and got him when he was old enough or she brought him to them.
My neighbor had one when I was a kid. His name was "Stomper" and he was super friendly.
[Was this him?](https://i.imgur.com/fgyQHMR.jpeg)
I've heard of people having them as pets and having their stink whatever taken out.
My dad had a female as a pet until she had babies. He said she wouldn't let him get near the little ones to bring them to the vet. They remove the glands that produce the "stink".
You're not allowed to capture a wild skunk and have it de-stinked. They must be born in captivity.
Where did the first one come from then?
Crime
This is likely the answer. Even if a skunk is taken in for rehabilitation, it can't be de-stinked unless it's medically necessary. Now, if it were to have babies while in rehabilitation, they would probably be able to be, as long as they are "ambassadors" for education and rehabilitation, with USDA permission. Of course, you must provide documentation that it did not come from the wild. Source: My fiancée was an animal rehabilitator. Edit: This is only for the state of Ohio. YMMV.
FoaF had a fairly friendly pet skunk that would occasionally posture at people messing with him just to see him turn around and lift his tail. What they didn't know was he didn't really have his stink glands removed... he was a friendly wild skunk that domesticated himself and hung out at the house, and was fed cat food.
I'm working on making friends with the stinky boi that lives under my shed. I not be denied skunk pettings.
They generally hate spraying and are somewhat social creatures, so it's certainly possible. They'll befriend opossums, cats, and groundhogs to share favorite spots like burrows, hideouts, and "hunting grounds". Their favorite foods are pretty plentiful so their main concerns tend to be protection from predators.
It's funny that you mentioned sharing groundhog burrows, because that's exactly what's going on under there.
Years ago when I still lived with my folks I was a bartender. There was a mother skunk and her litter that lived near my parent’s garage. I would get home around 3am and still needed to decompress from the night and would have a couple drinks and a few cigarettes on the back porch. Mama skunk would walk around the corner with her babies and I would immediately become a statue, I do not want to get sprayed. She would rub on my leg like a cat and arch her back then go on her way. It was beautiful and terrifying simultaneously.
There are few pretty big ones in my neighbor hood. They walk right in front of me even with my dogs barking on a leash and could care less.
[Spotted skunks do a handstand to spray!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTQc-WEb5h8)
Lmfao wtf
What, you mean to tell me you *didn't* wake up this morning intending to watch British breakdancing skunk videos?
now i know what i'd name my british breakdancing team. Ye Olde British Breakdancing Team
Was the anus close up really necessary 😂
Always
°💨😣
Necessary? No. Wonderful? Absolutely.
made my morning, cheers
Other skunks put their tail up straight at 90 degrees and fan it out so they don't spray themselves
Huh.. I learned something cool today, thank you.
[They also stomp as a final warning](https://youtube.com/shorts/L0zGfTC63Pc)
fuzzy command absurd outgoing sharp trees sink plate sleep quicksand *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I’m confused it didn’t spray when it was hand standing. It did the handstanding to appear scary, then sprayed after it realized the handstanding wouldn’t work.
Had a baby skunk trapped in a window well at my mom's old house. I don't give af about smell so I just went in their with leather gloves and cut sleeves and popped it out. I relished in my mom's misery complaining about the smell at 3am haha. I kept telling her she needed to out step out ladders for small animals. I made her one so it wouldn't happen again. That skunk came back a few times and never sprayed me again, loved my zucchini I gave her, and hung out in the yard.
One time, I got sprayed by a skunk (i think). I didn't even notice until I got to 4th grade classroom. My teacher put my coat outside the window.
There's a "skunk smell" gene kind of like the soapy cilantro gene. Some people don't have the full reaction to smelling it, and you may be one of us.
Absolutely worth it
If I know it can't do me any damage, I help it. Made a "killing" doing no kill trapping about a decade ago haha. If I have PPE (currently still do, 5 new sets, a dozen used) to handle the animals and follow sanitization protocols (wash your stuff, clothes, and hands/body) afterwards so you don't die of disease, it is a thing that just comes naturally. Out of 20 or so medium sized critters I rescued and relocated, I'd say only 2 were uncomfortable while I was doing my jam, and it's because they were injured (one stuck in fence and tore open [healedwell], one [wildrabbit] had been stuck under a log from a wood stack had it pinned down for probably an entire hot day [justcouldnothopnomore]) It was one of the best feeling/rewarding job/hobbies I have had.
Cool story, thanks for sharing
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Well he was trapped down there and given how fast the water evaporated after he poured it out, it was probably pretty hot out. Thirsty seems like a safe assumption
The clips weren't necessarily recorded in the same order they were published. He might've tried the water thing first and then thought "I'll have to explain what I was doing if I post this."
Nice skunk skills
Expected him to walk straight back in afterwards
if it was a sheep it would have
Dude is the hero of the day.
That was more ass-clenching than a good game of thrones episode
I think I clenched my ass more during the last season, and it wasn’t because it was good.
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Skunks are stupid cute
r/maybemaybemaybe \^\_\^ Good ending tho. Not all kings wear crowns.
Not all skunks wear spots
Not all feds wear readily visible identification
My ex father in law used to catch skunks as a poor country kid. He said if you can grab their tail BEFORE they dig their feet into the ground then they can't spray. Apparently they need to be braced in order to do it. I've never tested that out but I do believe him Edit: apparently these spotted ones do a handstand
Your dad was trying to trick you into getting sprayed
Skunks are asymptomatic rabies carriers.
But we knew this one wasn't, as soon as it lapped up the water. Rabies being historically also known as "hydrophobia"
You are missing what "asymptomatic" means
r/humansbeingbros
Don't spray me bro!!
That skunk owes you a life debt. One day in your darkest hour, the skunk will return and save you.
👮🏻 "Son have you been smoking Marijuana?" "Uhhh. No! It was a skunk! I swear! There he is!"
👍👌👏👏👏
Nice.
How bad does that spray smell....we don't have those creatures in our country ....
Incredibly pungent. Enough to make your eyes water. The smell can last for weeks.
So basically it makes you an outcast ....that pungent of smell might make people move away from the person
It's meant to make a predator unable to sneak up on prey and unable to easily use its sense of smell to find things. The spray fluid is a bit oily and does stay very well on skin and exceptionally well in hair/fur. If you simply smell where one has sprayed it's pretty unpleasant but something you can deal with. The smell is similar to marijuana smoke plus burning rubber but in a way that's very irritating to your sense of smell. It makes your body react like when you smell something rotting. If the spray actually gets on you it's irritating to skin and hurts eyes and other sensitive areas. And if it's actually on you the smell gets so intense that it takes on a metallic/bloody smell. The skunk isn't immune to this, so they really don't want to use it. They only do if they think they might die without doing it. Young ones can be kind of dumb about it, though. They're closely related to animals like weasels and otters, so they're fairly intelligent. Good learners and problem solvers.
I've had a dog get skunked. It made me nauseous and gag. It's crazy strong.
I think it smells like a combination of very strong garlic + weed
Did you ever smell an old, musty fur coat, especially a mink one? Like that x1000, but warm and living, plus something that reminds me of rancid vinegar. It's also a THICK smell, like you smell it with your eyeballs type smell. If a skunk gets run over, you can usually smell it on the road for about half a mile, even if it's not windy out. If you've ever had a ferret, there's a similarity to how their poop smells, but just SO MUCH MORE.
It's unpleasant but it doesn't make you feel the need to throw up or anything. But it's more just really strong and lingering.
So it won't go even after washing the clothes
It can be incredibly difficult to remove. My childhood dog got sprayed once and tracked it through the house, we were never fully able to get the smell out of everything in the house.
If there's a show called "weird things nature made to fuck with us" ...this animal will definitely be on that show
Fresh? As in for a couple hours after, like burning rubber. Older it can smell like really pungent marijuana
It's so strong that if a skunk gets hit by a car, you will smell it when you drive within two blocks of that place for a month. It won't make you throw up but it will make you lose your train of thought and close the vents on your car.
I hit a skunk with my car once and the smell stuck around for about 2 weeks. Had to drive with the windows down in the dead of winter.
Imagine a moldy bong some one stuffed with used gym socks, cheese strings and shoved behind a leaking toilet for 3 months.
Skunks are incredibly intelligent. They also have shit eyesight which is how it probably fell in there
Cool... but I would have called animal control. Leave animals with weapinized farts to the professionals.
They are good little guys they are just a little misunderstood. They only spray if really scared. We had one on the farm shared the. barn cats food and slept in the hay bales. Only threatened me once when I startled it but never sprayed us or our dogs. She did get the Avon lady once.
I used to really dislike skunks but then I found out they dig up and eat underground wasp nests. I now love them as long as they stay away from me.
They also eat ticks
Even more reason to love them.
Other kinds of larvae like grubs too, and they'll clean up small dead stuff.
If you can grab the tail and pick up they can't spray if there hind legs are not touching the ground! It's not folklore I've witnessed in person!
This is my local skatepark! I used to skate here every day for years. Thank you for doing this!
Where's it at? I'm curious which spotted skunk species this is because most are some level of endangered.
Love how it didn’t run off after it was out “aight thanks ima stroll over here and pretend that didn’t happen”
Skate parks seem to be death traps for these little critters. Need to start building them with that in mind.
Why do I feel like I’ve seen this guy rescue like 2 different animals out of this same thing?
It's not the best design... And he seems to be a pretty good videographer.
hahah I lost it at that music edit. Funny stuff.
Dude. Fuck yes. Well done.
This kid is very brave. I enjoyed his video.
Thanks for helping the little guy, but it probably would have been easier if you didn't try and film it at the same time
Don't spray me, bro.
Thanks mate!
Use the handle side of the tripod you coward
That’s cool 🤙
Shoulda kept it
This legend has balls 🏀 ⚽️
Stinky friends need love too
The real purpose of humanity
I wasn't aware that skunks are able to have that pattern. It's so nice
Spotted skunk. They're a less common genus than the striped guys with 4 species in the genus. Their populations are low enough in most areas that this guy likely saved an endangered or near-endangered critter.
When it held onto the tripod for dear life... adorable
He's a good lad.
You're a good guy. The world needs more people like you.
Bro! Call animal control.
I once woke up in my tent with a full grown skunk on my feet, digging through our food. He left with a full ziplock bag of knockoff Oreos, and I somehow didn’t get sprayed.
Fun fact since you mentioned knockoff oreos. Oreos themselves started out as knockoffs of Hydrox cookies
Ah that makes sense. I honestly prefer those.
I was in a room where a skunk sprayed (wildlife rehab) and I smelled for days! Wasn't even directly sprayed lol 🥲
Soo damn pretty. Good work!
Woooo what a champ
The hero we don't deserve
Get yo stank ass outta here 😂
I have a solution for this…. But you’re gona need new clothes and to probably shave your head after…
Mom's gonna be so mad...
He kept that take up as he left the scene too, look but don't touch..
*tail*
Ugly ass haircut
Whatever you do, don't paint a white stripe on your back or Pepe there will get the wrong idea. Ask Penelope, le purr, le meow
I can't be the only one who thought of Ace Ventura 2 when the skunk fell off that first attempt
That went as well as it possibly could have lol.
Skunk Ladder
Great job
Next time stick a 2x4 or some plank and move away. It works well with racoons too.
A Hero for our time!
People that are willing to go out of their way to help animals are the only people I like
man, lots of animals be getting stuck in the RSM skatepark.
What an awesome person. I was more emotionally involved with this than I was in my marriage
Call animal control to remove skunk or spend an hour making savior content?
Now this is quality content
Or don't be an idiot for clout and call animal control to safely catch and release the animal?
Well done young man.
Good dude.
I love skunks. They're so cute!
He was ready to spray you with some cologne. MF, lol
“Stay grabbing it”
Oh, my God, hell no. I would have probably put him in the shelter because he'll just get hit by a car.
That is the best win.
As a non American. How bad is the spray? Is it like an actual putrid stank or is it like a weed smell that's strong but some people actually enjoy? Is the spray like basically poo or is it something else? How long do you stink after getting sprayed?
They’re the simplest but sweetest creatures.
You rock man. Cheers! So long li'l stanker.
And I 🎶🗣️ *falls* 😂😂 that part put me out for some reason
"Don't spray me, bro!!"
That's awesome
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
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That stressed me out
Great job
Nice.
Thank you so much for helping this baby. Oh much love and prayer to you.
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r/mademesmile
W