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 What Stinks? Animals that Reek

What Stinks? Animals that Reek
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.23

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    fearsome, foul-smelling, pungent, mechanism, offensive, garter, emit, behavior, research, fluid, generally, marsupial, liquid, odor, tactic, during
     content words:    Wild World

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What Stinks? Animals that Reek
By Joyce Furstenau 		  
1     A bad smell can clear a room. Research is actually being done by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a stink bomb that will clear a rioting crowd. They are called "smelly repellents." Some animals can clear a room with little effort at all.
 
2     The skunk has a defensive odor that is perhaps most familiar (and nauseating) to humans. The skunk is best known for this defensive tactic. The skunk uses its anal scent glands to create sulfur-containing chemicals producing this offensive smell. It has been described as a combination of rotten eggs, garlic, and burnt rubber. This odor is said to be strong enough to ward off bears. (That's pretty bad!)
 
3     Skunks can use this weapon about six times before their supply runs out. Skunks spray as a last resort. They will stomp their feet, raise their tails, and hiss before they spray. Once sprayed, this odor is not easily removed. The great horned owl is the skunk's most fearsome predator -- since the owl has no sense of smell.

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