Striped skunk kit smelling a wildflower
© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures
Striped skunk kit smelling a wildflower
Pop culture has a long history of ironic portrayals of skunks, including Flower, the sweet-natured friend of Bambi, and the clueless lothario Pepe Le Pew. The comedic angle for most of these renditions leans on our collective fear of the skunk’s musk, which not only smells terrible and is difficult to wash off, but can burn the eyes of any predator who gets too close. Striped skunks can spray their musk effectively as far as 12 feet.
Related Images
Crescent-tail bigeye fish in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Plum-headed parakeet at Shimoga, Karnataka, India
Polar bears at play in the Arctic
A green sea turtle swims in the Pacific Ocean near the French overseas territory of New Caledonia
Svalbard reindeer in Van Mijenfjorden NP, Norway
Two red-crowned cranes in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan
Northern hawk-owl, Canada
Male white rhinoceroses, Lake Nakuru, Kenya
Today on Bing
Quiver trees in Namibia
May 27, 2023
Greenan Maze in County Wicklow, Ireland
May 27, 2020