The Probert Encyclopaedia of Nature

SKUNK

The skunk (Mephitis) is a north and central American carnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae. The skunk is slightly smaller than a domestic cat, and has a handsome black coat with two white stripes running along the back. The tail is long and bushy, measuring about 45 cm when the body is 60 cm long. The skunk's fur was formerly much valued in the fur trade, and at the start of the 20th century skunks were bred at a farm in Northumberland, England to supply the British fur trade. The skunk can emit an offensive odour, when annoyed, from the secretion of a pair of glands near the tail.
Research Skunk