However, no defense is impregnable and since 

 they are nocturnal in their habits, many skunks fall 

 victims to weasels, foxes and owls, especially to the 

 great horned owl. The latter seems unaffected by the 

 odorous fluid and frequently, specimens of these owls, 

 sent to museums for mounting, reveal evidence of en- 

 counters with "the most aloof of our native beasts." 



The home of the skunk is usually in a burrow in 

 the woods. Sometimes it utilizes the burrow of some 

 other animal, that of the w^oodchuck, for instance. Fre- 

 quently, it occupies a hollow log or stone pile. The 

 nest contains a bed of dried leaves and grasses and in 

 the early Spring the female bears from twelve to 

 eighteen young. The mother may be seen leading her 

 offspring in a long procession, all in single file, across 

 a field, as she goes on a foraging expedition at night. 

 The young make excellent pets and manifest a real 

 affection for someone who is kind to them. 



While the skunk aids considerably in reducing 

 the numbers of field mice, ''grubs," grasshoppers, bee- 

 tles and other insects, it occasionally invades the 

 chicken coop and destroys numbers of baby chicks. 

 Usually it takes just what it needs at the time, but it 

 seems to remember the place and frequently returns at 

 inervals until a whole brood has been taken. There is 

 no doubt that the animal eats the eggs and young of 

 ground nesting birds also, but on the whole, there is 

 much evidence that shows the Skunk to be the farmer's 

 friend. 



The skunk is a little smaller than a house cat. The 

 head is almost triangular; the tail bushy; the claws 

 curved for digging; the ears short, and the soles of the 



■•*C 103 1#- 



