Fifth Grade
Worksheets
What Stinks? Animals that Reek
No one wants to be around a horrible smell. A bad smell can clear a room. Some animals can clear a room with little effort at all.
The skunk is best known for this defensive tactic. The skunk has a defensive odor that is perhaps most familiar (and nauseating) to humans. The skunk produces this offensive smell by using its anal scent glands to create sulfur-containing chemicals. The smell has been described as a combination of rotten eggs, garlic, and burnt rubber. This odor is said to be strong enough to ward off bears. (That's pretty bad!) The great horned owl is the skunk's most fearsome predator - since the owl has no sense of smell.
Skunks can use this stinky weapon about six times before their supply runs out. Skunks spray as a last resort. They will stomp their feet, raise their tails, and hiss before they spray. Once sprayed, this odor is not easily removed.
