RGC Biology Students Hit the Skunk Trail

What's that smell?

 
Dr. Dan Foley
SRSU-Rio Grande College biology professor, with de-odorized specimens 
(L-R): striped skunk, Hog-nosed skunk, Western spotted skunk.

When he sets his sights on new research projects for his students, RGC biology Professor Dr. Dan Foley is not one to turn up his nose at an opportunity. He now embarks on a study no one else has cared to undertake: gathering baseline data on West Texas skunk populations.

An RGC faculty research fund will allow Foley to send teams of undergraduate researchers on weekly surveys of two highway systems leading into the hinterlands from Del Rio. Along these roads they’ll document, you guessed it, skunk road kills. Biology students from Angelo State University are partnering in the study by surveying Tom Green County highways.

The teams have their sights on four of Texas’ five skunk species that range west of IH-35: the weasel-like Texas spotted skunk, the ubiquitous striped skunk, the seldom-seen hog-nosed skunk, and the hooded skunk of the far-Trans-Pecos (not seen for nearly 30 years).

Pinching their noses, the students will take measurements and photos, note the gender and cite a likely age of the squashed animals. After 52 weekends of roadkill counts, “we should have pretty good baseline data on increasing or decreasing skunk populations in the region,” Foley says. The surveys begin this month.

Why should anyone care about little insectivores whose offensiveness is as marked as their black and white pelts? Dr. Foley stands by his skunks: “Maybe they contribute more than we realize, there’s a purpose to every living thing.

“But if we don’t take care of them now, we’ll never know their value,” he adds. “Like many species, maybe skunks are just good for themselves – for their own existence.”