Post #13717

Zorilla: It's not a skunk, but it's even worse. A beast that burns out the eyes of hyenas and lions On the African savannah, a tiny animal smaller than a cat has to go to extreme measures to survive. Hardened by the arid plains, the Zorilla ferret goes everywhere with a built-in pepper guard. Hyenas, lions and hawks are circling around, but the enemies do not dare to approach, because they can be deprived of their sight with one “zilch”. The harsh amber of our hero can be accidentally smelled almost throughout Africa. From the Sahel near the Sahara and as far south as the Indian Ocean, the black-striped bioweapon is picky and has colonized almost all of Africa's savannahs. The miracle of nature looks just like its overseas colleague - the skunk. The same black, the same white stripes along the body and a fluffy tail lying on the back. And of course, the aroma that makes flowers wither and flies fall dead. However, from the point of view of taxonomy, these animals are not even distant relatives. Zorilla belongs to the mustelidae family. Skunk - to the skunk family. The difficult fate of a small animal in a world of large predators pushed both ferrets and skunks to the same methods of self-defense. Scientifically this is called convergent evolution. Zorilla stinks noticeably. The smell is so pungent that it causes vomiting in most mammalian predators with a sensitive sense of smell. And if the jet gets into your eyes, you can lose your vision. The oily liquid acts on the mucous membrane like pepper. Even birds, whose sense of smell is so-so, are brought to tears by the persistent aroma of their own defeat. To be fair, Zorilla herself doesn’t give a damn. During the daytime, it hides in a safe shelter. It appears on the surface only at nightfall. Hiding in the darkness, the stinking ferret goes out on a night watch. In terms of food, Zorilla does not turn up its nose. Everything that fits into your mouth is useful. Insect - give it here. A small rodent will do. Snake or lizard - wrap two. Even cooperation from hunger is not alien to the animal: scientists have discovered that zorillas hunt together with some species of foxes. The ferret starts the business - he brazenly breaks into the house of gophers, meerkats, ground squirrels and other burrow inhabitants. The fox lies in ambush at the emergency exit. As soon as the residents start pulling at their claws, the fox immediately grabs them. If they want to stay in the shelter, the ferret will grab it. This is how the accomplices honestly divide the loot among themselves. For others, even members of their own species, entry into the ferret's personal space is strictly prohibited. If you take an extra step, the zorilla fluffs up, yelps, hisses, demonstrating obvious dissatisfaction. If a potential enemy is still stupid enough to loom nearby, the ferret uses chemical weapons. Such a strong reaction to strangers is dulled only for a short time and only for the sake of everyone'