How smelly is a skunk? It stinks so much that cougars dare not touch it.

As the saying goes, don't provoke black and white creatures, they are either poisonous or fierce, such as poisonous silver ring snakes and flat-headed brothers.

In addition, there is a black and white creature that is particularly terrible. This is a skunk.

How smelly skunks in the United States are, perhaps people living in China can't imagine. However, people who have studied in the United States or Canada should have a deep memory of this creature. They will tell you that the smell of skunks has exceeded the limit of human body, and it can even temporarily blind the eyes.

This is no exaggeration. Once a documentary photographer went to photograph a skunk and met a skunk farting on a dog. As a result, the photographer squatted on the ground and covered his eyes with tears.

In our impression, canned herring and pickled shark meat in Iceland should be the most smelly things in the world, but skunk evil spirits will teach you to turn over a new leaf in minutes with a smile.

Moreover, the smell of skunks is not instantaneous, but it can marinate you in an instant and make you a mobile odor distributor. Even if you throw away your clothes, even if you take countless showers, it will stink for a long time. Therefore, in some parts of the United States, some people also call skunks "social insulators." Once sprayed by a skunk, you can't participate in social activities for at least a week, but when you really have no taste, it will take at least a month.

Smell components of skunks

Humans also emit unpleasant smells, such as farting, because when people digest food, microbes in the intestines can not only help us break down food, but also convert some food into carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, indole and fecal odor, and some of these ingredients have unpleasant smells.

In other words, it is normal for animals to release odors. But what is abnormal is that skunks use this as a weapon, and carry forward this skill, which not only produces a stronger and more exciting smell, but also releases it freely.

Skunks have an anal gland in their anus, and some odorous substances are stored in the anal gland. According to the research, the odor components of skunks are mainly mercaptan, carboxylate mercaptan ester and methylquinoline.

Among them, mercaptan is the main source of skunk odor. We mammals are very sensitive to this substance, so it smells bad, which makes carnivores give up the idea of hunting them. For example, carnivores such as lions and coyotes are reluctant to provoke them even if they have the ability to kill them. American vultures have no sense of smell, so the smell released by skunks has no effect on them, so they will catch skunks.

The smell of sulfur carboxylate is not so strong, but it is difficult to be washed off by oxidation after contacting with human body and can be stored for a very long time. Moreover, when it meets water, it will undergo hydrolysis reaction and release mercaptan. The smell of mercaptan is so strong that once it is sprayed by skunks, we will release the source of odor for a long time, no matter how many times we take a bath. Only time can cure the smell of skunks.

Skunk pet

It's hard to imagine anyone wanting to keep a skunk as a pet. In the United States, some people will choose to remove the anal glands of skunks and keep them as domestic pets. Skunks without anal glands can no longer release odors, but they still have some small glands all over their bodies. Although these glands can still release odor, when the concentration of odor is very, very low, it smells like musk, but people with low odor tolerance still think they stink.

In fact, skunks are not suitable for pets, because skunks are wild animals and the history of human domestication is very short. They still retain quite a few barbaric habits, such as biting furniture, destroying kitchens and even biting people.

Skunks can also carry rabies virus. If skunks come into contact with external animals or carry viruses themselves, they may be infected with rabies virus when biting, so it is best not to keep them. Of course, China is not the origin of skunks, and they will not come to China to prevent biological invasion. Only international students living in the United States need to pay attention.

abstract

It is said that the smell of skunks is worse than burning 100 tires at the same time, worse than smelly socks marinated for a month, and worse than opening 100 cans of smelly herring. And this smell can't be solved by ventilation, bathing, etc. And we can only wait for time to heal.

Although skunks give off an unpleasant smell, they will not cause fatal harm to creatures, and at most they will be temporarily blind for a while.