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Moment Of Um

How do skunks spray their stink?

Moment Of Um

Brains On Universe

Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.41.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2024

⏱️ 5 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Skunks are part of a family of animals called mustelids, along with weasels, badgers, and otters. All of these animals produce a unique, musky smell, but where stink is concerned, the skunk reigns supreme. They can spray a super-smelly liquid from their butts at anything that scares them. But how does that spray work? We asked biologist Caitlin Amspacher to help us find the answer.


Got a question stinkin’ up your brain? Send it to us at BrainsOn.org/contact, and we’ll see what the answer en-TAILS!

Transcript

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0:00.0

From the brains behind brains on, this is the moment of um. Moment of Um, um, come to you from APM Studios. I'm Anna G and I'm building a skunk costume.

0:22.8

Welcome to my workshop where I make all kinds of meat stuff.

0:30.0

Some of it is for my fellow brainiacs here at Brainson Headquarters, like the sleek and portable

0:35.7

self-warming pizza backpack I made for Sandon.

0:38.8

He can bring up to three large hot pizzas with him wherever he goes and look fashionable doing it. Or the drum shoes I made for Mark.

0:46.0

The toe, middle, and heel of each shoe makes a different drum noise. When he dances,

0:50.8

he can drum up some pretty sweet beets.

0:53.0

But this project is for me.

0:56.0

I was invited to an animal costume party and I'm going as a skunk.

1:00.0

I want to make the costume as accurate as possible and that means being able to spray something stinky from under my tail like skunks do.

1:07.0

But I don't know how their spray works.

1:10.0

Other people must be making super accurate skunk costumes too because this question came in from listener Aeyinch.

1:16.2

Hi, my name is Aeyinch. I love in San Diego, California. My question for you is,

1:21.6

how do skunk stray their stink?

1:24.0

Skunks left alone, skunks out walking around looking for food, do not smell at all.

1:31.0

Hi, I am Caitlin Amspecker and I'm a biologist studying skunks at Southern Illinois University.

1:39.1

So skunks have these little glands or these little sacks inside of their body where they

1:44.7

hold all of this stinky spray the stinky stuff that they have and then when they

1:49.6

get really scared or if something is attacking them and they want to scare off the animal that's

1:57.5

attacking them or the person that's attacking them, they can spray that stinky smell through a little hole and it's really neat they can actually

2:07.0

direct where that spray is going that so if they see a person or see you know a wolf or a coyote that's attacking them, they can direct that spray to go straight at the animal or the person that is attacking them.

2:22.4

They can also make a cloud of smell just

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