HOME | DD

Description
Seen in the Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals, at the American Museum of Natural History. At dusk of July, in the Delaware Water Gap of New Jersey, a mother striped skunk leads her five kits from the den on a hunting trip under the cue of the sun setting a half-hour ago. There is no father is present, since the males don't help rear the young. The kits, being eight weeks old, are just learning how to catch and eat solid food while avoiding becoming prey themselves. Although striped skunks can emit defensive musk, even at just two weeks old, which is before their eyes first open, it takes practice to make good aim. Skunk kits tend to spray at any sign of danger or anything that threatens them, given the great risks at this age. (which is a good reason for them to be trigger happy). As they mature though, their defenses become more strategic (and they become more reluctant to spray their notorious musk, preferring to rely on warnings to keep predators at bay, though will use the musk as a last resort if all else falls).

Description
Seen in the Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals, at the American Museum of Natural History. At dusk of July, in the Delaware Water Gap of New Jersey, a mother striped skunk leads her five kits from the den on a hunting trip under the cue of the sun setting a half-hour ago. There is no father is present, since the males don't help rear the young. The kits, being eight weeks old, are just learning how to catch and eat solid food while avoiding becoming prey themselves. Although striped skunks can emit defensive musk, even at just two weeks old, which is before their eyes first open, it takes practice to make good aim. Skunk kits tend to spray at any sign of danger or anything that threatens them, given the great risks at this age. (which is a good reason for them to be trigger happy). As they mature though, their defenses become more strategic (and they become more reluctant to spray their notorious musk, preferring to rely on warnings to keep predators at bay, though will use the musk as a last resort if all else falls).