Do skunks warn before spraying?

So, you are wandering out in the forest area one day and you come across a skunk. In a matter of for me a few seconds your beautiful, peaceful walk through nature turns into a complete catastrophe as the skunk turns and fires its noxious spray at you. You are now the outcast with every person you know is they don’t want anything to do with you or your new smell that you have.



This is a common story that people tell. They just wanted to have a nice day in the wilderness but find themselves stinking for days. It just doesn’t seem to be fair.

The question is, was there something they could have done or noticed that could’ve prevented themselves from being sprayed. Does a skunk give some kind of warning before it begins to spray? That is a really good question.

Most of us just think that a skunk feels threatened or angered in some way and just turns and fires. However, this is not entirely the truth. In fact, most often a skunk will give a warning or two to an impending victim of its spray before it decides to release its chemicals at them.

The most common of these warnings is when the skunk will stomp its front feet on the ground. You will most often see this occur when it confronts animals such as dogs or other canines. Usually the animal will stop and begin barking or howling at the skunk and this will cause it to become irritated and start the stopping motion. If your dog comes across a skunk in this way or you find the skunk is doing this, you should be aware that it will not do so for very long he for turning on you. Heed the warning seriously and get away as quickly as possible.

This is not the only warning that a skunk may give however. Two other very common warnings that are displayed are it showing its teeth and standing up on its hind paws so it appears much bigger and formidable looking. If you look at how a cat or a dog acts when it is startled or scared by an imposing animal the behavior is very similar to how a skunk would look. It is the opening of the mouth to show the teeth and the lifting of the hind end that gives the impression that the animal is significantly larger than it really is.

If you see any of these kinds of indicators from the skunk then it is imperative that you get away as quickly as possible. You may not have much more than a few seconds before it begins to spray. This means you need to move as quickly as possible. Read more: Skunk Control, how to kill skunks.