Pets and how to care for them . the eastern UnitedStates, as far west as Arizona and Montana. The Skunk Like the fox, the skunk is now being bred in some num-bers for its fur. The experimental stage, however, has stillto be passed, and skunk farmers do not appear to have ob-tained the success of fox breeders. Although generallyheld in bad repute because of the undoubted efficiency of theliquid musk secreted by glands near the tail, the skunknevertheless makes an interesting pet. Young individualsbecome very tame and docile, and seldom make use of theirnatural defense. It is always safest, howe
Pets and how to care for them . the eastern UnitedStates, as far west as Arizona and Montana. The Skunk Like the fox, the skunk is now being bred in some num-bers for its fur. The experimental stage, however, has stillto be passed, and skunk farmers do not appear to have ob-tained the success of fox breeders. Although generallyheld in bad repute because of the undoubted efficiency of theliquid musk secreted by glands near the tail, the skunknevertheless makes an interesting pet. Young individualsbecome very tame and docile, and seldom make use of theirnatural defense. It is always safest, however, to render theapparatus innocuous by cutting the ducts of the glands, thusmaking their discharge impossible. Skunks are not great climbers, but are powerful diggers;so if they are kept in an open enclosure, the fence must berun well into the ground, with an inward turn at the bot-tom. The wire must be strong and the mesh small. The J_ ? 111 H 1 ?ifiai a*fai ^Kl^i«iM; * A f »•?• ^^^^^^^?^p ^ - tt^-lTir Red Fox. Woodchuck ir- ??r 0 < 1 ^^ ^? :^ H^v jSm 7 -Jri IIIMMiVI ^-*\ , ^ Photograph by E. li. Sanborn Courtesy ^eu• York Zoological Society Albino Gray Squirrel PETS 57 skunk naturally sleeps in an underground burrow, and if abarrel, with a wooden shute attached, be sunk in the ground,it will take advantage of the retreat. Skunks are chiefly in-sectivorous, but in captivity wall eat meat of all sorts, birdsand small animals, frogs, fish, cereals, dog biscuit and vari-ous fruits and vegetables. The skunks belong to the family , which in-cludes the weasels, mink, wolverine, etc. Numerous speciesand subspecies are distril)uted throughout North and CentralAmerica. The form found in the northeastern UnitedStates is the Common Skunk (Mephitis mephitis putida).There is much variability in the relation between black andwhite in the fur, those with full white dorsal stripes beingof much less commercial value than those which are almostentirely black. There is no
Size: 2186px × 1144px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectpetsfro, bookyear1921
