Say hello to my little friend.

跟我的小朋友說哈囉

Hey, what's up creatures?

嘿，鏡頭前的「生物們」好嗎？

It's Em. And I'm back today with another Creature Feature,

我是 Em，今天又是另一集生物小百科

the series where I pick an animal and tell you lots of facts about them.

在這系列中我會選一種動物，告訴你一些有關牠們的小知識

If you haven't already, remember to hit that subscribe button down below,

如果你還沒訂閱，記得按下方的訂閱按鈕

become part of the Creature Crew, and also hit that notification bell in the corner

成為生物小百科的一份子，也要按下角落的提醒小鈴鐺

so you don't miss a single upload.

這樣你才不會錯過每次的影片

Also because YouTube likes to hide my videos for some reason,

還有，因為某些原因，YouTube 很喜歡把我的影片藏起來

so you might want to make sure that you're actually still subscribed

所以你可能會想確認你真的還有訂閱我的頻道

and that you actually have got the notification bell. Just saying.

還有你真的有打開提醒小鈴鐺，我只是稍微說一下

Every one subscription means a kiss for Niffler. [kiss]

每個訂閱數都代表給 Niffler 的一個親吻 (親)

Or Dobby or somebody else. [kissing noise]

或 Dobby 或其他傢伙 (親吻聲)

Today we're going to be looking at the striped skunk from North America,

今天我們要來看看北美洲的條紋臭鼬

but I need my assistant.

但我需要我的小助手

Where is my assistant today?

我今天的小助手在哪兒呢？

I'll be right back.

我馬上回來

This is Puddin', my gorgeous assistant for today.

這是 Puddin'，今天的美麗小助手

She is a North American striped skunk.

她是一隻北美的條紋臭鼬

Puddin' is a female skunk, a little over a year old now,

Puddin'是一隻母臭鼬，現在一歲多了

and she actually used to belong to somebody else.

其實她過去是屬於別人的

She was a captive bred skunk so she wasn't taken from the wild,

她是圈養的臭鼬，所以她不是從野外來的

but the person who originally had her,

但原本擁有她的飼主

he fell into some difficulty, unfortunately, and he was made homeless.

很不幸地生活上有些困難，並無家可歸

And of course if you're homeless,

當然，如果你無家可歸

it's very difficult to keep a pet skunk.

是很難繼續養臭鼬當寵物的

So he actually gave her to a pet store, who very kindly boarded her for over a year.

所以他將她送到寵物店，那家寵物店也很仁慈地養了她一年多

Luckily this person did manage to find a new place to live, but sadly they didn't allow skunks.

很幸運地那個人找到了新的地方住，但遺憾地是他們不允許養臭鼬

So she was up for adoption and the store actually asked myself and Danny

所以她就在寵物店等待領養，而寵物店也有問過我跟 Danny

if we would like to be first in line to adopt her, we said yes.

我們願不願意領養她，我們也說好

So we adopted little Puddin' here. She is absolutely brilliant.

所以我們領養了小 Puddin'，她非常聰明

Don't worry, she is not a wild caught skunk.

別擔心，她不是野外抓來的臭鼬

She wasn't born in the wild and then taken into captivity.

她不是出生在野外然後才抓去圈養

Just born in captivity bred by a licensed breeder,

她是出生在經許可的繁殖場中

and we have her here at home under a permit which is issued by the state.

然後我們獲得國家發放的許可證，才得以飼養她

So don't worry, I didn't just randomly go outside and decide to bring a skunk home.

所以別擔心，我不是去戶外隨便抓一隻臭鼬回家

There's actually a million reasons why you shouldn't do that

其實有千百個理由說明為什麼你不應該這麼做

and I will come on to those later in the video.

我稍後在影片中會提到

But first of all, sit back and enjoy this very fragrant Creature Feature. [giggles]

首先，先坐好享受這個非常芬芳的生物小百科時間 (咯咯笑)

Fragrant!

芬芳的！

[sped up] Fragrant!

(加速) 芬芳的！

[slowed] Fragrant. Frag-rant.

(慢速) 芬芳的，芬-芳-的

Now if you say the word "skunk," most people's reactions are,

現在如果你說出「臭鼬」這個詞，大部分人的反應會是

"No. no no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. Nooo. No. Nooo. NO.

「不，不，不，不，不-不-不！」

That's because skunks are notorious for the foul odor they can produce

因為臭鼬最有名的就是他們產生的氣味，可說是「臭名」遠播

when they're scared or when they're threatened.

那樣的氣味是在牠們受到驚嚇或威脅時發出的

And we'll talk a little bit more about their special fragrance a bit later on.

我們稍後會再談談牠那特別的香味

Just like us, skunks are mammals.

就跟我們一樣，臭鼬是哺乳類動物

They are covered in fur or hair, they give birth to live young, and they feed their babies on milk.

牠們全身被毛髮覆蓋，牠們屬於胎生動物，還有牠們會餵幼年臭鼬吃奶

Baby skunks are called "kits," like kittens, but just kits for short.

幼年臭鼬稱為「kits」，像 kittens 一樣，但只有前面的 kits

Typically speaking in a striped skunk's litter, you'd be looking at between four and six kits.

通常來說，條紋臭鼬產子一次大約在 4 到 6 隻

And we're now just eating the inside of my shirt, which is lovely. That's great.

現在我們的小助手正在咬我的上衣內部，真是可愛，太棒了

[♪ sultry jazz music ♪]

(煽情的爵士音樂)

Skunks are born in late April all the way through to early May,

臭鼬在四月下旬到五月上旬是生產的季節

so around about now when I'm uploading and editing this video.

大概就是現在，當我編輯跟上傳這支影片的時間

Just like many mammals, kits are born completely blind and very deaf

就跟大部分哺乳類一樣，幼年期出生時是全盲的，而且幾乎聽不見

and they are reliant on their mother.

牠們非常依賴母親

But they do quickly grow and learn to forage for food

但牠們很快地長大並學會尋找食物

and by the age of three months, they are completely independent from their parents.

大約三個月大時，他們就能完全從父母身邊獨立

It took me more like 23 years for complete independence.

而我花了 23 年才完全獨立

Sorry, Mum and Dad.

爸、媽，對不起

Skunks are predominantly a nocturnal species, which means that they predominantly wake up at nighttime.

臭鼬大部分是夜行性動物，意思是牠們大部分是在晚上活動

However, they will wake up at dawn and dusk as well,

然而，牠們也會在清晨或黃昏活動

so it could be argued that they are both nocturnal and crepuscular.

所以也有一部分爭議是，牠們同時是夜行性也是曙暮性動物

When skunks are sleeping they roll into a ball shape

當臭鼬睡覺時，會蜷曲成球狀

and this helps them to protect their heads from predators.

這可以幫助牠們保護頭部，不被捕食者襲擊

[sneezes]

(打噴嚏)

[sneezes]

(打噴嚏)

Emma is extremely allergic to skunks and has to put it down for a couple of minutes.

Emma 其實對臭鼬過敏很嚴重，我必須把牠放下來一下子

To sleep, they're happy to invade the dens of other animals

睡覺時，牠們很樂意侵入其他動物的巢穴

or sleep in tree hollows or even a dark shed.

或睡在樹洞中，或甚至黑暗的小屋中

Mostly, they just like anywhere where it's cooler and dark.

大部分時候，只要是涼爽、陰暗的地方牠們都喜歡

Skunks are omnivores, or as I like to call them,

臭鼬是不偏食的，或是我會這麼叫牠們

omnomnomnom-nivores because they eat practically everything!

因為他們幾乎所有東西都吃地津津有味

They're happy to eat invertebrates like worms, for example,

牠們很樂意吃無脊椎動物，例如蚯蚓

which are one of their favorite food.

是牠們最愛的食物之一

I mean literally if it smells like food they are going to eat it.

我意思是，只要聞起來像食物的東西牠們都吃

Whether it is a deceased animal such as roadkill, berries,

不論是遭路殺的動物、莓果

sweet roots, nuts, any leftover food from garbage cans that they find, chicks that they find nesting on the floor,

甜的根莖類、堅果、任何牠們能在垃圾桶找到的多葉植物、在地上巢穴中找到的小雞

Anything. If it smells like food, they're going to eat it. Including Emma's fingers.

任何東西，如果聞起來像食物，牠們就會吃，包括 Emma 的手指

Don't eat my fingers.

別吃我的手手

Their ability to handle so many types of food is partially what makes them such a successful species.

牠們能消化多種食物的能力在某個部分也使牠們成為一個成功的物種

They literally will eat everything and anything,

牠們可以吃下各式各樣的東西

even when it's not that good for them.

即使對牠們沒有好處

In captivity this can cause a bit of a problem because...

被豢養的情況下，這可能會有點問題，因為...

they're very prone to obesity.

牠們很容易變得過胖

For the kits that make it through their very first winter,

對幼年臭鼬來說，這可以讓牠們度過第一個冬天

sadly, the average lifespan is only between 2 to 5 years for a wild skunk.

很遺憾地，野生臭鼬平均壽命只有 2 到 5 年

In fact, 5 years would be really pushing it.

事實上，5 年就非常困難了

Of course in the wild, they have roads to contend with.

當然，在野外，牠們需要對付「道路」

The sounds and the lights from roads really confuse them and disorientate them.

從道路來的聲音、燈光會使牠們困惑，使牠們失去方向感

Because of this, skunks are often caught in road traffic accidents.

因為如此，臭鼬經常在路上發生交通意外

But in captivity, the average lifespan of a skunk is much, much longer.

但被豢養的臭鼬，平均壽命就長得多了

Ten years or a little bit more is not unheard of for a captive skunk.

被豢養的臭鼬活 10 年或更長的時間也不是沒聽過

Although striped skunks can occur where there are very harsh winters,

雖然條紋臭鼬生存的地方冬天十分寒冷

such as on the East Coast or up into the southern tips of Canada,

像是東海岸或是加拿大南端

they won't actually hibernate the way that bears or a hedgehog would.

牠們不會真的像熊或豪豬那樣冬眠

They will reduce their activity somewhat,

牠們會稍微減少活動

but they don't go into a true hibernating sleep.

但牠們不會進入真正的冬眠

Okay, now let's take a look at some of the features of the skunk

好，現在我們來看看臭鼬的特徵

because there is so much that you can tell about an animal just by looking at their features.

因為單單看寵物的特徵就有很多東西可以講

First of all, the face.

第一點，臉

Small eyes and a big nose.

有一對小眼睛跟一個大鼻子

This animal does not need to rely on eyesight for very much.

這種動物不需要依賴眼睛的視線

Their most powerful sense, of course, is their sense of smell.

牠們最強的感官知覺，當然就是牠們的嗅覺

Their nose is incredibly powerful and they can use that nose to detect their favorite food underground.

牠們的鼻子非常強大，牠們可以用鼻子探測到地底下牠們最愛的食物

[skunk sniffing sounds, Em giggling]

(臭鼬嗅聞聲、Em 咯咯笑)

And now for those perfectly manicured feet.

然後是那些修剪得很好的四肢

Their cute little feetses!

牠們可愛的小腳

Although they look very formidable, they're actually very blunt.

雖然看起來很可怕，但其實牠們的腳很鈍

And they're there to help them to dig.

這些腳是用來幫牠們挖掘的

These guys are a pest to a lot of people's lawns.

這些傢伙對人類的草坪來說是討厭鬼

If you have holes in your lawn which look like this,

如果你的草坪上有這樣子的洞

Congratulations, you have a skunk.

恭喜你，有隻臭鼬來過了

Seriously, let's just take a look at these feet over here.

認真的，我們來看看她的腳

I'm sure many of you know the joy of toe beans,

我確定許多人都知道揉捏腳上肉墊的樂趣

the things that cats have which are so so soft, or the dog pads that actually smell really nice,

貓的肉墊很柔軟、狗的肉墊很好聞

but you've never experienced... skunk feet.

但你從沒碰過臭鼬的腳

Skunk feet are just like the softest leather you've ever encountered!

臭鼬的肉墊就像是你有史以來碰過最柔軟的皮革

Look at it!

看看！

[distorted, slowed speech]

(變聲，慢速)

Just look. It's just so cute! Oh my God!

看，多可愛啊！我的老天鵝啊！

Here, take it. Take your vitamin paste.

這裡，拿好，你的維他命凝膠

Lastly, color.

最後，顏色

Just looking at this skunk, it's high contrast.

看看這隻臭鼬，她有著強烈的對比色

And usually, animals which have a high contrast in a black and yellow, black and white,

通常動物如果有很強烈的對比色，如黑與黃、黑與白

that is a sign of danger.

那是種危險的徵兆

Their color, the black and white, lets other animals know that if they come any closer,

牠們的顏色，黑與白，讓其他動物知道如果靠得太近

they are going to get sprayed. Yes, sprayed.

牠們會遭到噴射，沒錯，噴射

We've come to their number one defense.

接下來要說到牠們最強的防禦系統

What they're very famous for: that foul odor.

牠們也因此「臭名」遠播

Skunks don't smell bad all of the time.

臭鼬不是一直都有臭味

They do have a body odor very similar to ferrets,

牠們有著跟雪貂很相似的體味

but they don't have that very famous, feared smell

但並不是那個非常有名、讓人聞之喪膽的臭味

unless they themselves are scared or threatened.

除非牠們被驚嚇或受威脅

It's also a misconception that skunks smell bad because they "fart."

這裡也有個誤解是，臭鼬聞起來臭是因為牠們的「屁」

Skunks can fart!

臭鼬會放屁！

I would know.

我知道

Yes, they can.

對，牠們會

Just like many mammals, skunks do have the ability to fart.

就跟許多哺乳類一樣，臭鼬有能力放屁

But a skunk fart is like a delicate little windy pop of aroma compared to the actual smell that they are famous for.

但與牠們著名的氣味相比，一個臭鼬的屁，就像微弱的香氣清風噴發

Their famous scent does not come from a fart which would be a gas.

牠們著名的氣味不是來自一個屁，不是氣體

Nope, their signature smell comes in the form of a noxious liquid!

不是，牠們的標誌性氣味是來自有毒液體！

The liquid is stored in two little glands inside the anus of a skunk.

這液體儲存在臭鼬肛門內的兩個小腺體中

So it's in these grape-size glands that are stored within the skunk's anus

所以在這個存在臭鼬肛門中，葡萄大小的腺體中，

that they store their noxious liquid.

牠們儲存了有毒液體

But when it's time to actually squirt the liquid,

但實際噴射出液體的時機來臨時

there's two little appendages that look kind of like pink-colored pinkies, just the tip of your pinkies,

還會有兩個小小的附加物，它們看起來就像粉色的小指頭，就像你的小指頂端那樣

that poke out from the anus—

會從肛門伸出來

Hellooooo!

哈囉！

—and then that is where they can shoot with deadly accuracy up to ten feet away,

牠們就是靠它噴射有毒液體，精準射中十英尺外的目標

which is roughly three meters, their noxious liquid. And it smells disgusting.

大約是三公尺，而且它聞起來非常噁心

That smell is so potent

這個氣味很厲害

that it can travel and linger up to a mile and a half away.

它可以飄 1.5 英里遠，而且這氣味會存在好一陣子

So we can all bask in the ambience.

我們就可以沐浴在這氤氳之中

Girl, ya smell. A lot.

女孩，妳的氣味，真多

If you're curious as to how a skunk's liquid smells,

如果你很好奇臭鼬的液體氣味究竟如何

it's like putting your head into a warm deep container

就像把你的頭放進一個又溫熱、又深的垃圾桶中

filled with sulphur,

裡面充滿硫磺味

ammonia, rotting eggs, and burning rubber.

阿摩尼亞、腐臭的蛋、燃燒的橡膠味

Take a deep whiff.

深吸一口氣

[smells skunk] Aaah! [giggles]

(聞臭鼬) 哈！(咯咯笑)

If you are sprayed by a skunk,

如果你被臭鼬噴到

the spray can actually cause irritation and it can even induce asthma and vomiting.

它實際上可能會刺激你的身體，甚至誘發哮喘、嘔吐

So it's just good to keep a comfortable distance if you ever see a skunk.

所以如果你看到一隻臭鼬，最好是保持一個安全距離

The smell of skunk spray can linger on furniture, in your hair, on your skin,

臭鼬噴射物的氣味會在傢俱上、你的頭髮、你的皮膚上停留好一陣子

and there's this misconception that if you use tomato juice, it will remove the smell.

而這裡又有一個誤解就是，如果你使用番茄汁就可以消除氣味

Sorry, that's a little bit of a myth.

抱歉，那是個迷思

In order to eliminate the smell,

真的要除去這個味道

you have to oxidize the thiols because the thiols are what actually causes the smell to be so potent and disgusting.

你必須讓硫醇氧化，因為硫醇就是讓這個味道如此強烈與噁心的主成分

Oxidizing the thiols neutralizes the odor.

氧化硫醇可以中和氣味

The way you can achieve this is by using

有個方法你可以試試，就是使用

3% hydrogen peroxide in warm water with a little bit of detergent and baking soda.

3% 過氧化氫 (俗稱雙氧水) 加入溫水中，再放入一些清潔劑跟小蘇打粉

Now if you're going to use this because you've actually been sprayed by a skunk,

現在如果你要用這個方法，因為你真的被臭鼬噴到

You might want to do a patch test on your skin

你可能需要做個皮膚貼布測驗

just to make sure that you do not get irritated by the solution

好確保這個解決方法不會讓你的皮膚受到刺激

because it would contain a little bit of hydrogen peroxide.

因為它可能會殘留一些過氧化氫

Of course if you get any skunk spray in your eyes,

當然如果你被臭鼬噴到眼睛

never put anything other than water in your eyes to rinse it out.

除了水，不要用任何其它東西沖眼睛

Unless the doctor gives you something different.

除非醫生給你一些不同的東西

But if you do get sprayed by a skunk,

但如果你被臭鼬噴到

there you go.

給你參考

3% hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, warm water,

3% 過氧化氫、小蘇打粉、溫水

and a little bit of washing-up liquid or detergent.

一點點洗衣精或清潔劑

Scrub scrub scrub!

刷刷刷！

You can usually tell when a skunk is going to spray you

你通常能夠分辨出臭鼬是不是要對你噴射液體

because they've got very clear warning signs to tell you to back away.

因為牠們會有很明顯的警訊來叫你走開

One of their warning signs is to stamp their feet.

其中一個警訊就是跺腳

Dun dun dun. They will literally jump forward and stamp their front feet and pull backwards and stamp again.

蹬蹬蹬，牠們會往前跳然後用前足跺腳，再往後跳，再跺腳

Kind of like they're doing that little thriller dance from Michael Jackson.

有點像麥可傑克遜的 Thriller 的舞蹈

They can hiss, they can huff, they can stamp their feet,

牠們會發出嘶嘶聲、牠們會恫嚇、牠們會跺腳

and then they will turn around and lift up that tail.

然後牠們會轉過去，舉起尾巴

Say hello to my little friend.

跟我的小夥伴說哈囉

[fart noise]

(放屁聲)

Of course, if you're lucky enough to run into a spotted skunk,

當然，如果你夠幸運碰到斑臭鼬

they do something that looks like this:

牠們會做這樣的動作：

They handstand.

牠們會倒立

So if a skunk is baring their teeth,

所以如果一隻臭鼬正齜牙咧嘴

stamping, lifting their tail, hissing at you, or growling,

跺足、舉起尾巴、對你發出嘶嘶聲或是咆哮

just back away slowly, quietly.

就慢慢地、靜靜地後退吧

And count your blessings that you don't get sprayed because then you're just gonna stink for days.

然後拜託上帝不要讓你被臭鼬噴到，不然你要臭好幾天

Now earlier in this video, I did mention that I didn't just go out and trap a skunk.

在這部影片剛開始我有提到，我不會直接出門抓臭鼬

There are some very good reasons why you don't just go out and trap a skunk.

有幾個非常好的理由說明為什麼你不能直接走出門、做個陷阱、抓隻臭鼬回家

Skunks are a rabies vector species,

臭鼬是狂犬病帶原物種

Which means that they very prevalently carry rabies.

意思是牠們通常都有狂犬病

Rabies is transmitted through the saliva of infected animals,

狂犬病透過被感染的動物的唾液傳播

so a bite from a skunk with rabies can be fatal to either yourself or your pets.

所以被有狂犬病的臭鼬咬一口，不論是你或你的寵物都有可能致命