Skunks

I saw on CNN today the capture and release of a skunk. What they did was cover the skunk with a blanket until it ‘sprayed’. They then took off the blanket and moved the skunk.

My question is:
I thought a Skunk could spray as much as it needed to in order to defend itself. Is this true? Or does it have one shot and then has to recover?

I thought a skunk had a few shots it could pop off before having to recover. One would think a few shots would be available in case the skunk missed on its first shot or the predator was still determined to kill the skunk after the first shot.

That at some point it has to wait awhile before its ‘reserves’ fill up again I have no doubt. If you spit enough your mouth will eventually dry out till it has a chance to catch up. I imagine it takes a skunk longer to produce smelly stuff than it does to empty its load.

Is it possible they did not show the entire capture? Skunks have to be able to raise their tail to squirt. Did they throw the blanket over it to prevent it from raising its tail and to keep it calm.

I occasionally have to evict skunk families and use a have-a-hart trap that is small enough they can’t hoist their hinies. When I move them, I toss an old tarp over the trap to keep them calm. Never been hosed.

from Living with urban wildlife

I believe this particular skunk was only detained to remove a plastic cup from around its muzzle. The skunk was wandering around a parking lot, unable to remove the cup. People used the tarp long enough to extract it.

It’s a bit off-topic but I found this chemical analysis of skunk musk that I just had to share.

The glands that secrete and spray the musk are actually -inside- the anal passages, and pop out when the skunk gets ready to spray.

I don’t know if a skunk actually has to ‘flag’ his tail to actually make the nozzle pop out, though. I imagine that would probably play a role, though, especially if a lot of the same caudal muscles are used in conjunction with each other down there.

I like skunks. They’re cute. The musk isn’t actually that bad, either.
-Ashley