Here is all about can you eat skunk. Whether we have encountered a skunk in real life or not, we can understand the discomfort one will experience due to its foul scent. Skunks have a defensive mechanism in-built in them to protect themselves from their predators.
Due to their incredibly foul scent, even the most dangerous predators in the wild, like lions and hyenas, won’t bother a skunk. But if you find yourself in a challenging situation where there is no access to fresh food, can you eat skunk? Are they edible? We will answer these questions in this article.
Is It Safe To Eat A Skunk?
The simple and crisp answer to the question is – Yes, skunks are edible. Then why don’t the animals in the jungle dare to touch it? It is mainly because of the foul smell they spray. Wild animals can’t perform complex operations to separate the foul smell from the rest of the flesh. But we humans can.
If you are able to separate the foul smell from the skunk, you can safely eat their meat after cooking them. The first thing you have to know is that these skunks have a secretion gland near their anus that contains the foul smell liquid. When threatened, they squeeze that gland resulting in spraying that foul liquid for feet.
If you are in their effective range, you will vomit after smelling that liquid. And the smell won’t come off that easily either.
How To Capture And Cook A Skunk?
There are only two possible ways to capture and kill a skunk. The first method is archery which requires much skill and costly equipment which won’t be available in the jungle. So, the next method is trapping the skunk.
Trapping includes designing traps that are suited to capture skunks alive. Don’t use heavy traps that will smash their body. They don’t have much meat in them, and you will lose them if you smash them with a heavy rock. And upon being smashed, their foul smell will contaminate the whole meat.
You can try traps, including ropes and knots. This will capture them and keep them alive until you kill them, reducing the risk of the foul smell contaminating the whole body.
Upon capturing, proceed towards the skunk slowly and calmly. Wear a protective mask, goggles, and gloves if possible. It is best not to provoke or frighten them because they will immediately respond by spraying the liquid onto you.
So, approach calmly and kill it with a firm hit on its head, leaving it no time to react. After that, you have to carefully remove the secretion gland. It will be present near the anus. If you are not sure where it is, you can chop off the rear legs along with its hip.
But a lot of meat will be lost if you do so. Find the secretion gland and remove it with a sharp knife without poking it. If you make one wrong incision, the whole meat will be rendered useless.
The main thing you should know is that these skunks are known to carry rabies with them. So be careful while removing the secretion gland and avoid any cuts. Rabies is a deadly disease and virtually has a 100% mortality rate if not vaccinated properly. After that, you can cook them under a campfire or deep-fry them in a pan.
But the ultimate question is whether it is worth the trouble? Just because something is edible doesn’t mean that you should eat them. But if you find yourself in a situation where you need some meat, skunks might provide you with what you want.
