A Brief History of the Best Animal in the World: The Striped Skunk: Lecture Recording

Free online lecture by Dr. Jen Hunter, UC Berkeley’s Hastings Natural History Reserve

This program is co-hosted by the UC Sedgwick Reserve

Skunk about to spray. Photo by Skeeze / CC0

View the recording of the online presentation at your convenience. The lecture is an hour’s duration, followed by Q & A.
Presentation link:
https://youtu.be/6jjRlSVMCMg

This online lecture was first presented “live” via Zoom on Thursday, May 28th, 2020.

We are fascinated by skunks, likely because of the contradiction between their docile wanderings and  charming appearance, combined with the extreme necessity to avoid their spray. What are skunks? What kind of animals are they? What is the advantage of their bold, black and white coat? How do they persist in the wild? Why is their spray so persistent and unpleasant? What is their ecological role?

Jen Hunter, director of UC Berkeley’s Hastings Natural History Reserve, unabashedly loves skunks. After receiving a PhD in Ecology from the University of California at Davis, Jen has traveled the world to study cheetahs, leopards, black and white ruffed lemurs, bottlenose dolphins, and other colorful creatures. Find for yourself why she reveres striped skunks the most!

The Society’s Board of Directors intends to expand its offerings of physically safe programming, such as this online presentation. We’d like to hear your feedback on the talk and your experience with this format. Your response will be helpful as we plan more online talks through 2020 and perhaps beyond.  Please email us at synature@west.net. Going forward, announcements of “live” online presentations will be broadcast, and links to presentation recordings will be posted soon after events.