Spotted skunks have been observed doing handstands. Prior to using their spray, skunks that feel threatened may hiss, growl or stamp their feet. Their den system may consist of a series of tunnels and chambers with more than one entrance. Skunks rarely dig their own burrows, preferring to use abandoned dens of other animals, or by finding crevices and gaps under porches or buildings. While solitary for the rest of the year, skunks may den in groups of up to twenty individuals. Skunks spend the winter months in deep underground dens in a state of inactivity. Skunks are crepuscular which means they are most active at dawn and dusk and spend the daytime hours in underground burrows. Skunks have few predators except for hawks, owls and occasionally coyotes, foxes, wolves or wild felines that are desperate for a meal. Skunks reserve this effective defense mechanism as a last resort as it takes over a week for the musk to be replenished once discharged. Skunks are unique in that they can spray this musk when threatened to a distance of up to 6 m. Skunks have musk glands near the anus for marking their territory. Striped skunks are not adept climbers and their eyesight is poor. They have long, sharp claws on their front feet which serve as effective tools for digging for mice, grubs and other underground prey. Skunks are opportunistic omnivores that will feed on a varied diet of insects and their larvae, frogs, small mammals, eggs, plants, berries and carrion. Typically skunks are short-lived animals, managing only two to three years in the wild but up to 10 years in captivity. Young skunks will disperse and leave the family unit in the fall and become sexually mature at one year of age. After three weeks they will gain sight and after another five weeks, they may begin to leave the den. The kits are born blind and nearly hairless. Once thought to be part of the weasel family, they are now classified under Mephitidae.Īfter breeding in the late winter or early spring months, females give birth to litters of four to seven young called kits in early May. The spotted skunk is about half the size of a striped skunk with a combination of vertical stripes and spots as well as a bushy white-tipped tail. Females tend to be 10 percent smaller than males. They measure 50 to 72 cm from nose to tail and weigh between 2 to 3.5 kg. Striped skunks are house-cat sized mammals that are easily identified by their two white stripes that run along their black body.
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