Skunks

Identifying Characteristics

• White bar between the eyes
• Triangular-shaped head
• Moderately elongated body with short
• Muscular legs
• Long, sharp non-retractable claws

Striped Skunk:

• Fur is typically black with white on top of the head and neck
• In most animals, the white extends down the back
• Most the size of a house cat, but some are significantly smaller

Spotted Skunk:

• Black with white spots or short white streaks
• Smaller than the Striped Skunk (half the size of a house cat)

Primarily in the Western Hemisphere

2 to 3.5 years, up to 7 in the wild

Wide variety of habitats, including deserts, forests, and mountains.

Attracted to residential areas by the availability of food, water, and shelter.

• Diverse carnivores
• Highly varied diet, including insects, grubs, earthworms, small rodents, snakes, lizards, frogs, mushrooms, berries, and fruit, pet food, and garbage
• Opportunistically feed on bird eggs
• Diet will vary depending on availability

No, skunks do not hibernate.

In regions with colder weather, they may congregate in communal dens during winter.

Striped Skunks: Primarily active at dawn, due, and at night but can be active during the daytime, particularly in human-use areas

Spotted Skunks: Rarely venture out during the daytime

Usually occurs during February and March
4 to 6 kits per litter

• Often den in burrows
• Use abandoned burrows dug by Ground Squirrels, Foxes, or Coyotes
• If dens are scarce, they will readily use brush piles, hollow logs, or culverts
• In urban settings, they will den under decks, porches, or beneath buildings
• If suitable dens are unavailable, skunks will dig their own dens

• Damage to gardens by digging for food and feeding off of plants
• Become nuisance when they live under porches, decks, garden tool sheds, or homes
• May damage lawns by digging small pits or cone-shaped depressions that range from 3 to 5 inches across
• Also ruin lawns by rolling back sections of sod in search of insects
• Disease concerns: one of the most common carriers of rabies and other diseases