The Urban Struggle For Survival of The Skunk

Skunks can travel several miles a day, and unless found, a lost pet skunk is in trouble. Unlike cats and dogs, domesticated skunks lack homing instincts to find their way back. Skunks can carry rabies. Any skunk large enough to require two hands to pick up is old enough to be on its own. Skunks can only catch rabies by being bitten by another rabid animal or by eating the carrion of a rabid animal before it starts decomposing. The disease's latency period is only about 5 days longer than a dog or human, and only rarely 'months' longer.

Skunks cannot climb so they always make their homes at floor level or below. Skunks can spray their scented yellowish musky fluid up to 10 feet very accurately. But skunks can also create similar strong odors even without spraying. Skunks can have a variety of dispositions. Some are solitary like their cousin the wild skunk, some are sociable to other skunks and other domestic pets in the household.

Skunks can also cause severe damage to gardens and lawns by their digging activities. While searching for grubs and other subsoil insects, skunks frequently uproot turf and other plants. Skunks can cause an odor problem, not to mention the damage and mess of digging. The solution is to exclude them, thus preventing access in the first place. Skunks can spray foul-smelling liquid at predators, and the smell is very hard to get off. Skunks do not hibernate in the winter, but they barely eat anything and don't move very much.

Skunks can carry rabies, but so can raccoons, oppossums, bats, dogs, cats, etc. No, they're not born with it. Skunks can only run at a rate of about ten miles an hour, which explains why so many are killed by cars. Drivers expect them to move away, just as other wild animals do�but instead a skunk will stand still, getting ready to spray. Skunks can spray their musk up to 15 ft. For instructions on getting rid of the smell, read How to get rid of skunk smell.