Nature's Nursery - Striped Skunk

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Striped Skunk

The skunk is a member of the weasel family and is related to the mink, badger, and otter. The striped skunk is a medium-sized mammal that has a glossy black coat with a white forked stripe on its back from its nose to its tail.

Striped skunks live within two miles of water through out most of the United States and Southern Canada. They inhabit woodlands, semi-wooded areas in cities , deserts, grassy plains, and even suburbs. They usually avoid heavily forested areas. They make their homes out of burrows abandoned by other animals, crevices and hollow logs.

Striped skunks are well known for their odoriferous defense mechanisms. They can defend themselves by squirting a foul-smelling, bitter, stinging yellowish fluid spray. Their spray is so strong it can temporarily blind you even if you are 15 feet away. Their anal glands are highly developed for defense and spray accurately as far as 15 feet. Skunks can spray four to six consecutive times. They do not spray unless mortally threatened. They will usually just arch their back and raise their tail, but when spraying, they will form a U-shape, lifting their head and their rump in the air. They can spray over their head while facing you. Even three-week-old babies have the ability to spray. Ammonia, and tomato juice all work for removing the skunk’s scent out of clothing. Striped skunks make a hissing sound when they're ready to spray.

Skunks have few predators. Most animals learn to recognize the skunk's warning stripes and avoid its stinky spray. Owls and other birds of prey, which have a poor sense of smell, do kill some skunks. Its main predator is the Great Horned Owl.

The stripped skunk can measure 14 to 20 inches long, with a tail 8-15 inches long. They weigh 4 to12 lbs.

Skunks are omnivores, eating a variety of foods depending up on what is available. Their primary foods are insects and their larvae, fruits and berries, plants, eggs, small mammals such as mice, carrion (dead animals), and frogs. They are effective predators, feeding on the eggs and young of ground nesting birds. Skunks will also eat garbage.

Striped skunks begin mating in late winter giving birth to 4 to 7 young in mid-May. The female skunk builds a nest under woodpiles; culverts and buildings or it may dig a den in a hillside or banks. The babies are born blind and deaf and nurse for 6 weeks. They will leave the family unit one year after becoming an adult.

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