Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

"There is no quadruped on the continent of North America, the approach of which is more generally detested than that of the skunk. Even the bravest of our boasting race is, by this little animal, compelled to...hold his nose and run, as if a lion were at his heels."

Such was John James Audubon's 19th century observation of this hemisphere's most odiferous creature. But were it not for the skunk's distinctive coloration and signature aroma, the animal would differ little from any other North American omnivore.

Dining on a diet of insects, rodents, bird's eggs, fruits, and berries, the skunk has adapted to almost every habitat on the continent. This creature is typically nocturnal, and takes its leisure everywhere it goes, since few predators can withstand its noxious brand of chemical warfare.

Imagine the surprise of the first Europeans to encounter the dreaded black and white one! Since there is no cognate creature on the other side of the pond, pioneers simply adopted the indigenous name already in place for the animal: skunk.

Or at least, that's what it sounded like to European ears. It's a corruption of an Algonquin term that early English chroniclers spelled variously squnck or squuncke.

The translation of the native word is "animal that urinates or sprays," but its Latin denomination, mephitis mephitis, is a bit less technical: it means "stinky stinky"!

Radio Script > Skunk