78 MAMMALIA ORDER IV.CARNIVORA. 



black fur, relieved on the back with broad longitudinal stripes of white, and 

 the busliy black and white tail, which is generally carried over the back. They 



have 34 teeth, and are provided with 

 special glands for the secretion of the 

 noisome fluid to which they owe their 

 name. The little skunk (Spilogale puto- 

 rius) of the Southern United States and 

 Central America isamuchsmalleranimal, 

 and the only member of thegroup that can 

 climb. The South American skunk (Con- 

 cpatus mapurito), ranging from Texas to 

 Patagonia, differs in having only 32 teeth, 

 and also in its heavier build, and by the 

 nostrils opening do wnwardsand forwards, 

 instead of on the sides of the muzzle. 

 Mr. Aplin, writing of this species, ob- 

 serves that " the scent-gland cannot be 



Fig. 48. -COMMON SKUNK (Mephitis P ened U ^ 6SS the taU is afc a right angle 



mephitica). or something near it, with the line of 



the body ; and that therefore when 



held by the tail the weight of the skunk's body keeps the tail more 

 or less in a line with it, and the skunk is unable to discharge its vile 

 secretion. To perform this operation it is of course necessary to catch 

 the skunk asleep, or otherwise deeply occupied (digging roots, for instance), 

 and to run the risk of its waking up or turning round and seeing you. I be- 

 lieve I could have easily done it myself, as I have more than once seen a 

 skunk lying curled up asleep in the daytime. Indeed, while looking for a 

 parrot 1 had shot among some bushes, I very nearly stepped upon one 

 which was curled up on the ground ; and there it remained until I put a re- 

 volver bullet through its body. However, I never cared to risk the loss of 

 useful garments, it having been proved, I believe, that clothes once well 

 dosed at close quarters may as well be burnt. The skunk passes the day- 

 time in sleep, \\hen undisturbed. In Soriano I used to find them laid up in 

 holes and under clefts in the granite boulder rocks, in desertec? ant-nests, 

 among paja grass, or in the crown of a big hassock of this, and in one or two 

 cases on the ground among bushes. In the latter case it lies on its side 

 curled round. When roused in a hole by a dog, it presents a rather diaboli- 

 cal appearance as it pops its little vicious head out. Notwithstanding 

 demonstrations of this kind, I have only once seen a skunk use its teeth. In 

 this case one fastened on to Jim's flanks, and the old dog walked about with 

 it hanging on for half a minute, looking round at it in much astonishment at 

 this unusual and unseemly behaviour the fact being that he could not get 

 hold of his enemy, which turned with him. The skunk seems to be an om- 

 nivorous feeder. Its long strong claws are well adapted for digging, and 

 places where they have been scratching are to be seen all about the camp. 

 They probably feed on small mammals, reptiles, and insects, as well as 

 roots, and are always credited with robbing hen-roosts. With regard to the 

 distance at which you can smell a skunk, I cannot give an opinion ; but you 

 " often smell them when you cannot see them, and just about sunclown the 

 smell is a usual and familiar one about the camp ; at night, too, a strong 

 whiff of it as you sit or stroll in the patio is a very common occurrence. At 

 a hundred yards to leeward, with the slightest breeze the smell of a discharge 



