Habits: Striped Skunks spend the day in small groups, sleeping in dens that they dig themselves or burrow from other animal species. They often share dens with foxes or raccoons. The den is often occupied in summer by females and their young. At dusk, the skunks emerge from their den to forage for food. In towns and cities, skunks live in woodpiles, sheds, or under houses. In the country, they are often found in the open forest. Skunks deter enemies by spraying a very offensive smelling fluid. It can cause temporary blindness, but its main purpose is to stop the intruder from breathing for a few seconds while the skunk escapes. The striped skunk’s underside is mainly dark, but the white stripe on its back serves to warn would be predators, rather than providing camouflage. Because of the skunk’s highly offensive spray, it fears few other animals, including man. Skunks can swim well, but do so only to save their lives. They never go willingly into the water. Skunks may be active throughout the winter.

Food and Feeding: Striped skunks are meat eaters, feeding mainly on large insects like crickets and grasshoppers and on small mammals. They also forage in the soil and among dead leaves, using their long front claws to dig up beetle grubs, earthworms, roots, and fungi. Skunks hunt by scent, sniffing slowly and carefully over the ground. Striped skunks will also eat nuts, fallen fruit, and the eggs of ground nesting birds.

Breeding: The breeding season for the striped skunk is February and March. Males begin to range widely at this time, often leaving their own territories in search of a mate. During mating season, the males are very excitable and spray large animals and humans at random. They female skunk carries her young just over 2 months. Litter sizes range from three to ten, although the average number is four to five. The young skunks, called kits, are born blind and without fur. The female suckles the kits for 6-8 weeks until they can hunt for themselves. The young stay with their mother, often sharing a den with several families until the end of winter and the next breeding season. Baby skunks begin exploring early, but stay in the family unit for their first winter. They will be ready to mate at 11 months.

Key Facts:
Sizes:
Length: Males, 13-18 in. Females slightly smaller. Tail, 7-10 in.
Weight: 3-6 lb.

Breeding:
Sexual maturity: From 11 months
Mating: February and March
Gestation: 62-66 days
No. of young: Usually 4 or 5

Lifestyle:
Habit: Nocturnal, sociable. Adult males solitary in summer
Diet: Mainly insects and small mammals. Seasonal berries, nuts, fallen fruit, and birds’ eggs
Lifespan: 7 years in the wild, 8-10 years in captivity

Related Species: The western spotted skunk, Spilagale gracialis, is common over large areas of North America.

Distribution: Widespread throughout Canada and the United States, except in Alaska.

Conservation: Common throughout their range, striped skunks are hunted for their skins, but only with a hunting license. Many skunks are run over by cars every year on the roads – often because they stand their ground and spray rather than running away.

The Skunk’s Unpleasant Spray: The skunk is best known for its ability to cause an extremely unpleasant odor. It ejects a strong smelling fluid from its anal glands when it is threatened. The skunk aims its spray, which can travel 12 feet, at the victim’s eyes. The skunk warns that it is ready to spray by turning its rear end toward the intruder, raising its tail, and pattering its front feet. If the warning fails to deter the intruder, the skunk hisses, spreads its haunches, and sprays, seldom missing. It can spray repeatedly seven or eight times.

Did You Know: 
The striped skunk’s scientific name comes from a Latin word meaning “poisonous vapor.”
Striped skunks do not use their spray on each other, even in the fiercest fight.
The only predator which appears to be immune to the effects of a skunk’s spray is the great horned owl, which hunts the striped skunk at night.
Skunks are resistant to snake venom. They can survive ten times the amount of venom needed to kill another animal of similar size.

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