Skunks

Skunks

Skunks
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.59

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		handstand, mechanism, nighttime, notorious, popularity, mating, extremely, despite, discharge, hence, based, species, lifestyle, offspring, breed, unique
	content words:		South America

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Skunks

¹     Skunks are, without a doubt, the stinkiest of all animals! To make their presence known, they wear eye-catching fur coats in black and white. This costume serves skunks extremely well, because it gives a clear warning to any animal that dares to come near them. If the intruder refuses to leaves skunks alone, it will receive the ultimate punishment for its stubbornness -- a spray of foul-smelling liquid!

²     Skunks have two scent glands under their bushy tails that produce the famous smelly fluid. When they spray, they aim at their intruder's face. The oily, yellowish liquid is designed not only to make their enemy stinky for days to come, but also to cause irritation and temporary blindness. Fortunately, skunks don't spray without giving out a fair amount of warning. They hiss, stamp their feet, handstand, and raise their fluffy tails. They only discharge if absolutely necessary. Skunks can squirt the liquid over 10 feet away.

³     Though this remarkable self-defense mechanism shields skunks from hungry predators like foxes, it has one fundamental flaw -- it only works on animals that can smell. Hence, if skunks are up against an enemy that lacks the sense of smell, they are in trouble. Skunks' worst nightmare is to run into a great horned owl that hunts in silence at the nighttime and does not get deterred by their spray.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
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