Can Young Skunks Spray?
When under dire stress, adult Striped Skunks will employ their two anal glands and anoint a perceived threat up to 16 feet away (with the wind’s help) with their potent musky spray of butyl mercaptan. (This same compound is used as an additive to natural gas (which is almost odorless) to enable its detection by smell when natural gas escapes or leaks from pipes.)
Often it is assumed that very young skunks do not have this capability, and for the first seven days of their life, they don’t. However, musk is present in a skunk’s anal glands at birth and can be emitted on day 8. The pictured skunk (and its three siblings) were rescued after their mother was killed by a car, and as you can see, thanks to a positive experience with the nurturing hands of its rescuer (Lou White), it is not interested in utilizing its defense mechanism to defend itself against an admiring naturalist. (Photo by Lou White)
Naturally Curious represents a passion for learning and teaching about natural history that I am fortunate enough to be able to pursue. If and when the spirit moves you to support my tiny contribution to your day, I would love for you to donate to a fund that was set up to support my recently-widowed daughter and her two-year-old. If you choose to contribute, you may go to https://www.plumfund.com/financial-hardship/sadie-brown-otis-brown-fund. Thank you so much.
American Toad Parotoid Glands
One of the adaptations that allowed the first amphibians to spend time on land was their skin, as it helped prevent them from drying out. It also served as an effective defense mechanism.
The skin of the American Toad contains multiple glands, both mucous and granular. Mucous glands are scattered all over a toad’s body and secrete a transparent mucus secretion that acts as a lubricant in water and also helps keep their skin moist on land. Granular glands contain a toxin that deters many predators, and is a toad’s main way of defending itself. (In addition, the toxin also protects a toad’s skin from microorganisms as well as helps repair wounds.)
Sometimes clusters of granular glands form a pad, or “macrogland.” American Toads have two such pads, or s parotoid glands, which are located behind their eyes. When threatened, a toad adopts a defensive stance, inflating its body and standing with its hindquarters raised and its head lowered, a position which makes its parotoid glands the first thing that an attacking predator encounters. The secretion from these glands generally induces very serious inflammations of a predator’s eyes or digestive tract, as well as vomiting. Some predators are immune to this toxin, while others, like the American Crow, have figured out a way to prey on toads without consuming any poison — it punctures the toad’s skin with its beak and then pecks out the toad’s liver without ingesting any toxin.
Naturally Curious is supported by donations. If you choose to contribute, you may go to http://www.naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com and click on the yellow “donate” button.
Naturally Curious with Mary Holland 
What Other Naturally Curious People Are Saying