Why is aversion to skunk odor so universal among animals?

Foxes use a similar defense mechanism. Except they don’t spray it comes from their skin. The reason animals back of from the smell is because if you get close enough, and enough, gets in your eyes you can be blinded. Using trace amounts of skunk smell will likely make all the animals, birds squirrels chipmunks mice and deer, migrate to the neighbors garden.

Because it is THE most potent defense strategy of any animal.

The only thing that eats skunks are owls and turkey vultures after they are roadkill.

Owls have a very poor sense of smell, great vision, bad noses. lol

Because it stinks.

funny side note. When i started smoking weed i stopped thinking of skunk as a bad smell. It just reminds me of good weed now lol. Wonderful effect as i no longer find the smell horribly repulsive.

I thought that it was acidic in nature and stings especially if it hits a dog in the face. I don’t think they care much if it hits them anywhere else.

As coloma points out, owls will go after skunks, because owls have a poor sense of smell. So I don’t think it is the fear of getting hit in the eye so much as the smell. A skunk would have a hard time deliberately aiming backwards to hit an animal in the eye.