Rear View

This is one of my favorite pictures of The Stink.

I took it not long after we got her, and she still likes to investigate the back of the couch - usually for purposes of trying to bite one of the cats.

All the animals get along, but the skunk definitely rules the house. She can bully any other animal out of their food dish and said animal just steps back and looks forlornly at us to do something about it.

Skunks are amazingly flexible for being shaped like a furry barrel with legs. They will look you in the eye and point their dangerous end at you at the same time. Skunks are known to be highly accurate with their spray, but not many people are aware that spraying is actually a skunk's LAST defense.

The first thing a skunk will do when threatened is stamp their front feet. Skunks will also do this in play, but when scared or angry it will often be accompanied by a high-pitched growl that kind of sounds like screaming with it's mouth shut.

The second (and third) line of defense are the teeth and claws. Skunk front claws are quite long, and need to be trimmed about once a week or every two weeks at most. Skunk teeth are very sharp and cause a bad puncture wound, so it is important to teach a skunk at an early age that biting is not acceptable behavior.