This works well with people and animals but is useless against cars. Because of this ability, skunks will stand and face a threat rather than run away. The skunk’s main defense is a complex chemical substance that includes sulfuric acid that can be fired from either one of two independently targetable anal glands. Litters range from 3 to as many as 10 young who remain in the nest for about two months, after which they begin to follow their mom as she forages.Īll skunks seem able to dig their own burrows but will also use abandoned dens of other animals, hollow logs, wood or rock piles, under buildings, stone walls, hay or brush piles and trees or stumps. After mating, a female can store the male’s sperm and delay initiating pregnancy for some weeks. In winter and spring they may eat mice and the eggs of ground-nesting birds.īreeding usually occurs in late winter or early spring and gestation averages about 60-75 days, so babies are usually born in May or June. They also eat some plant material, including wild fruits, apples and corn. They are therefore very beneficial to have around. Skunks eat mostly insects, many of which are pests to humans. They are active throughout the year, but in northern areas, they spend the coldest parts of the winter in their dens. They are primarily nocturnal and usually solitary – except when mothers are raising their babies. They have a home range of a few hundred acres at most. They try very hard not to get in harm’s way. Skunks are placid, retiring and non-aggressive. The striped skunk is more adaptable and lives in a variety of habitats. The spotted skunk prefers the country and spends most of its life near farms. The hooded and hog-nosed skunks are rarer and found mostly in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The spotted and striped skunks are the most widely distributed and therefore more likely to come into contact with people. There are four different kinds of skunks found in the United States.
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