I actually have a pet skunk and he is the best pet I've ever owned.
wow! I've never heard of people having skunks as pets! You're not afraid of him spraying you with a liquid with a strong unpleasant smell?
They remove their stink glands so he's basically like a cat.
Skunk
Skunks are North and South American mammals in the family Mephitidae. While related to polecats and other members of the weasel family, skunks have as their closest Old World relatives the stink badgers. The animals are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant smell. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginger colored, but all have warning coloration.
Etymology.
The word "skunk" is an Americanism from the 1630s, the
social skunk and the one most commonly kept as a pet. In the US, skunks can legally be kept as pets in seventeen states. When a skunk is kept as a pet, its scent glands are often surgically removed. In the UK, skunks can be kept as pets, but the Animal Welfare Act 2006 made it illegal to remove their scent glands.
Classification.
In alphabetical order, the living species of skunks are:
- Family Mephitidae
- Genus: "Conepatus"
- "Conepatus