Marshall Richmond, age 10, of Jackson, Miss., for his question:

HOW FAR CAN A SKUNK SPRAY?

The skunk, a member of the weasel family, is best known for the offensive odor it produces from glands on either side of the anus. Most types of skunks turn their backs on the intruder, lift their tails and eject a spray as far as 12 feet.

Skunks also give a churring sound when disturbed and they growl and screech.

Skunks vary in size, but all species have black and white coloring. The common skunk is found everywhere in the United States, Mexico and southern Canada. Its long fur is usually black, with a narrow white stripe on its forehead and a single (although sometimes double) white stripe running from its head down its back and often onto its tail.

Skunks are omnivorous, which means they eat all kinds of foods indiscriminately including animal and plant foods. They eat small mammals, birds, eggs and insects.

Skunks breed in late winter or early spring. The den, lined with vegetation, can be a hole abandoned by another animal or a new one dug by the skunk. There the female delivers three to five young. The skunks then sleep for most of the winter, although they are not true hibernators.