They are easily found at night because their abdomen glows in a blinking pattern. They are completely harmless to humans. The blinking pattern is used to attract the opposite sex during courtship. This is the creature that the infamous Pepe le Peux was patterned after. The smell will infect your clothing, hair and any other substance that remains in the area for very long.
Skunks are a nocturnal animal and generally ignore humans.
However, they are not above invading campsites for foodstuffs that have been left out. They will eat anything you will eat and then some. Skunks are also known to carry rabies. Sometimes, visitors have difficulty understanding what we upstaters are talking about. It's not that our accent is so pronounced - it's just that we don't necessarily pronounce words the way they're written.