Nature
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If you love nature, you’ve got to follow the U.S. Department of the Interior on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Usually, they post incredible photographs displaying the rich variety of landscapes, wildlife and history in the United States. However, yesterday they posted a video a little less majestic than usual: a skunk doing a handstand in the middle of the night.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The video was taken this summer by an unmanned camera in Happy Valley in Saguaro National Park in Arizona, showing a spotted skunk standing on its hands and awkwardly dancing around.
As funny as it may look, this is actually an act of aggression used to intimidate its foes. It does this to appear larger and show off its bold markings – basically acting as a last warning before it sprays its notorious musk.
"Like the other three groups of skunks, spotted skunks are capable of spraying a strong unpleasant scent as a form of defense," the U.S. Department of the Interior wrote on Instagram. "But before spraying, spotted skunks will sometimes go into a handstand and attempt to intimidate any would-be aggressors."
So if you ever see a skunk doing a handstand, as much as you want to take a photo, it’s probably best to run the other way.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a ..........spotted skunk? Like the other three groups of skunks, spotted skunks are capable of spraying a strong unpleasant scent as a form of defense. But before spraying, spotted skunks will sometimes go into a handstand and attempt to intimidate any would be aggressors like this wildlife camera, placed in Happy Valley.Biotech Nic Perkins NPS video
Posted by Saguaro National Park on Wednesday, 14 October 2015
