Earthling Appretiation - Entry # 2 - Mephitis mephitis - The Striped Skunk

The striped skunk is native to southern parts of Canada, The United States, and northern Mexico. They are omnivores, and have few natural predators, save for birds of prey.
Like all skunks, they possess a rather notable defense mechanism, being two specialized scent glands on either side of their anus, each containing about 15 ml of an oily amber colored musk consisting of a mixture of thiols, which gives it it's distinct and pungent odor. When threatened or startled, the skunk will aim and fire it's spray at their target with precision accuracy, which most animals find repulsive and burning to the eyes.
About the size of a cat, and marked by it's name sake stripes that run the length of their body and tail, this is one critter who might evoke both a sense of admiration and alarm, in the human being.