Skunks are reluctant to use this weapon, as they carry just enough of the chemical for five or six uses – about 15 cc – and require some ten days to produce another supply.
[7] Their bold black and white
coloration make their appearance memorable. It is to a skunk's advantage to warn possible
predators off without expending scent: black and white
aposematic warning coloration aside, threatened skunks will go through an elaborate routine of hisses, foot-stamping, and tail-high
deimatic or threat postures before resorting to spraying. Skunks usually do not spray other skunks, except among males in the mating season. If they fight over den space in autumn, they do so with teeth and claws.[
citation needed]
Most
predators of the Americas, such as
wolves,
foxes and
badgers, seldom attack skunks, presumably out of fear of being sprayed. The exceptions are dogs, reckless predators whose attacks fail once they are sprayed, and the
great horned owl.
[8] It is the skunk's only regular predator.
[9] In one case, the remains of 57
striped skunks were found in a single owl nest.
[10]
Skunks are common in suburban areas. Frequent encounters with dogs and other domestic animals, and the release of the odor when a skunk is
run over, have led to many myths about the removal of skunk odor. Due to the chemical composition of the spray, most of these household remedies are ineffective,
[11] except for
remedies able to break down thiols.
Skunk spray is composed mainly of three low-molecular-weight
thiol compounds, (
E)-2-butene-1-thiol, 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, and 2-quinolinemethanethiol, as well as
acetate thioesters of these.
[12][13][14][15][16] These compounds are detectable by the human nose at concentrations of only 10 parts per billion.
[17][18]