The Great Horned Owl

Deep in the night and under the gale of the shadows, perched, a predator sits in the trees. Capable of turning its head 270 degrees, the great horned owl, also known as the hoot owl, scans the dark night for unsuspecting prey. Its plumicorns poised in the offense, it tracks a well known scavenger, the skunk. The skunk, quickly realizing that it is under hot pursuit, it attempts to thwart the owl by utilizing one of its few defenses. Tail in air, the skunk fires an olfactory assault of liquid composed of a horrendous sulfur stench. This would typically throw any human or animal into an overwhelming sense of nausea resulting in a quick surrender. However, the Great Horned Owl is unfazed by this futile defense as it lacks an utter sense of smell for this malodorous compound class of thiol-alcohols.

Therefore, what better animal to represent Dr. Hoot’s than the great horned owl? One of the few animals that predates on skunks as a result of its inability to process the stench produced from its furry foe.  Although we are not combating against skunks per se, we are fighting against the same class of compound produced by our normal flora bacteria as skunks utilize for defense. Together, we can all be the owl and fight the skunk in us!