Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"

This striking little critter is a Striped Polecat, Ictonyx striatus. It looks very much like a skunk, and even, like a skunk, sprays stinky stuff at perceived enemies… but actually, it is not a skunk at all! It isn't really a polecat either. It is occasionally called a Zorilla. It has a close relative in North Africa, the Libyan Striped Polecat. The two species are probably most closely related to an enigmatic species called the African Weasel. They are somewhat more distantly related to the Honey Badger. All of these species share a bold black-and-white coat pattern as well as possessing smelly secretions to spray in self-defence. They're similar to skunks because of having a similar way of life, and their bold coat patterns act as a way of warning predators of their noxiousness. They're fairly small, reaching about 1.5 kg/3.3 lbs in bodyweight.

Striped polecats are very widespread, occurring over all of Sub-Saharan Africa, except in the moist rainforests and in the driest deserts. They are never common anywhere, though. They are most frequently found in fairly dry and/or open regions. In Southern Africa, they even make use of the sparsely vegetated regions in and around riverbeds of the Namib Desert. They're nocturnal, and loners. By day they stay well-concealed in burrows or dens. They trot around at night, their bodies raised high on their short legs and their backs arched, their tails stretched out behind them. They keep their heads low, using their sensitive ears and noses to detect prey. They eat mostly small mammals, mainly mice, but also lizards, small snakes, and invertebrates like spiders and even centipedes. They hunt by stalking and then pouncing on larger prey animals. They'll push their snouts right into the soil or leaf litter in order to sniff out smaller invertebrates. They have long claws on their front feet, and will dig out some of their prey. They are able to climb trees, but do so only very rarely.

When threatened, striped polecats will sometimes turn tail and run away. They can run surprisingly fast with their short legs. They know their territories well, and will head for the closest shelter. More typically, though, they will stand and face the animal or person threatening them. They arch their backs, fluffing out the fur on their bodies and tails, trying to make themselves appear as large as possible. They'll curl their tails up over their backs. If cornered, they'll growl or scream. Actually spraying their stink is done only as a last resort. It is secreted from glands around their butts. It is an extremely nauseatingly smelly substance, that sticks and that lasts for many days. This profound stench will deter even fully-grown lions. Apart from the vile smell, the anal secretions also irritate the eyes. Predators seem to quickly learn to leave striped polecats alone; in most cases, the threatening posture is enough to deter them.

A somewhat rarer tactic that they also use, is to feign death. In such cases, the smell might suggest that they are decomposing!

Among themselves, polecats sometimes use threatening postures and might even squirt some of their smell, for asserting themselves and protecting their territories. It is important to note that the animals don't smell bad in and of themselves! Striped polecats can indeed be tamed as pets; they will never squirt their owners, or even their owners' pets, instead just growling and barking to warn if they feel threatened.

Not much is known about the striped polecat's reproduction. Males and females only come together for copulation, which lasts surprisingly long, as much as 100 uninterrupted minutes! The female makes a lot of noise, a drawn-out call of yaps and screams, while they mate. Typically one to three pups are born about 36 days later and the female raises them alone. They are tiny, naked and blind at birth, their eyes only opening at the age of about six weeks. They're weaned at around the age of eight weeks. They accompany their mothers on hunts for another few months. By the age of 9 months, a female striped polecat is sexually mature.

In spite of their apparent excellent defences, striped polecats are sometimes killed by predators. They suffer a lot from stray dogs, mainly apparently not so much from being killed by them, as by being outcompeted for food by them. Humans sometimes kill them, believing them to be poultry thieves. They're also sometimes killed by cars on roads at night. Still, it would appear that for the moment the species is reasonably secure.

Colours of Wildlife Archive

Willem

21.12.15 Front Page

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