Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson LX · Topic 7: Wild mammals: bat, skunk, raccoon and fox
60. The skunk
Goal: Your child can describe the skunk's colors and slow, fearless walk, tell what it eats, and recognize its track.
You'll need
- Fresh snow, or soft mud along a field edge or stream, for tracks
- The book's drawing of skunk tracks
- A ruler
- A nature notebook and a pencil (colored pencils if you have them)
What's in the book
Comstock's story of the skunk: its size and black-and-white fur, its burrow and winter sleep, the young born in May, its scent as a defense and why it never hurries, its food of insects and mice, and its double line of tracks. Then Lesson LX's leading thought, method and six groups of questions. A note by Thoreau on a young skunk and a passage on the skunk's voice follow.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Skunks are about at night from early spring to late fall, and sleep in their dens through the coldest weather. You are more likely to find signs than skunks: tracks in snow or mud, small holes dug in lawns where they hunted grubs, or a whiff of their smell on a summer night.
Safety first
Safety first: never touch, feed or try to catch a wild mammal, even one that looks tame, sleepy or hurt. Bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes can carry rabies. If one acts strangely, or is out in daylight acting sick, move away and tell an adult, who can call the local animal control or wildlife office.
If you meet a skunk, back away slowly and quietly. A skunk stamps its front feet and raises its tail as a warning before it sprays.
Keep the big idea in mind
Comstock's "leading thought" is the one idea the lesson is meant to lead to. Read it to yourself now, and save it to share at the end, after your child has looked and answered:
The skunk has depended so long upon protecting itself from its enemies by its disagreeable odor, that it has become stupid in this respect, and seems never to be able to learn to keep off of railroad tracks. It is a very beneficial animal to the farmer because its food consists so largely of injurious insects and rodents.
Comstock's method is to let children answer the questions "from personal observations or inquiries." So it is fine to ask grandparents or neighbors what they have seen.
What does a skunk look like?
Look at the photograph in the book and ask:
How large is a skunk? Describe its fur. Where does the black and white occur in the fur? Of what use is the white to the skunk?
Comstock's answer: the white is a warning at night that "here is an animal which had best be left alone."
Fearless and slow
Does it hunt for its food during the day or the night? Does the skunk ever hurry? Is it afraid? How does it protect itself from its enemies?
Talk about why an animal that nothing dares attack never needs to learn to be quick or careful.
Read the tracks
Look at the book's drawing of skunk tracks, then at any tracks you find.
Describe the skunk's track as follows: How many toes show in the track? Does the palm or heel show? Are the tracks near together? Do they form a single or a double line?
Comstock explains that the skunk walks on its palms and heels as well as its toes, as a bear or a person does. Measure a track with the ruler.
A good neighbor?
How does the skunk benefit farmers? Does it ever do them any injury? Do you think that it does more good than harm?
Then read the leading thought aloud. Comstock's word "stupid" is hers; ask your child whether "fearless" might be a kinder word.
Nature notebook
Draw a skunk from the photograph, showing exactly where the white stripes run. Beside it, copy the double line of tracks. Add any signs you found and the date.
Tip
Comstock mentions a scientist who kept young skunks as pets. Wild animals should stay wild, and in many places it is against the law to keep one.