Striped Skunk
| Scientific Name | Mephitis mephitis |
| Survival Strategy | Torpor / Communal Denning |
| Conservation status | Least Concern |
Spring
Mating occurs from mid-February (think Valentine’s Day) through April. In May, females birth four to eight black and white kittens.
Summer
Although they are still nursing, young skunks join their mother on foraging trips throughout June and July. Skunks are building up their body fat in preparation for the coming winter by August and September, and young males are dispersing to new territories. Young females will often stay with the family group until the following spring.
Fall
By October, skunks are locating winter denning sites and continuing to add as much fat as possible.
Winter
From mid-November through January, striped skunks will be sheltering in their den, often in a state of torpor. They will venture out of the den if the weather becomes mild.
Behavior
Communal Denning
Striped skunks often use communal denning to stay warm during periods of winter inactivity. A single dominant male will huddle with a dozen or more females, which decreases the need to enter a state of torpor. Huddling also reduces the need to burn stored fat to generate heat, leaving pregnant females better able to survive in the early spring when food is scarce.
The Downside of Communal Denning
There are inherent costs in communal denning. Predators more easily detect a large group of skunks. Canine distemper is a highly-contagious air-born viral disease common in skunks and invariably fatal. Large indoor winter gatherings that include an individual infected skunk can have devastating consequences for the entire group.
Physiology
Torpor
Depending on the severity of the winter, they will spend most of their time in a den, in a state of inactivity called torpor. The trigger for torpor is environmental conditions and continues until those conditions improve. Skunks in warmer climates are active year-round. Although similar to torpor, hibernation is a hormonal response to day-length. Hibernation also involves a more significant reduction in body temperature and a slower metabolic rate. True hibernators do not become active to feed until spring.
Slowing Down to Save fuel
The goal of every skunk is to survive the winter without running out of fuel(fat).
During torpor, a skunk’s metabolism slows down, their body temperature drops almost 20oF, and they are inactive for extended periods. Skunks may re-emerge to forage for food, urinate, and defecate on warmer winter days before returning to their den. By spring, striped skunks may lose up to 50% of their weight.
Diet
Striped skunks are opportunistic omnivores. Their animal foods include grasshoppers, beetles, grubs, and worms, but they will not pass up baby mice, crayfish, or other small prey. One benefit to humans is the ease at which a skunk can destroy a colony of ground-nesting yellowjackets to dine on the protein-rich larvae. They will also eat seeds and fruits. With such a range of possible foods, it is not surprising that skunks are attracted to suburban trash cans.
Lifespan and Mortality
Striped skunks rarely survive their first year of life. If they make it through their first year, they can live up to seven years.
Predators
Striped skunks are prey for great horned owls, bald eagles, bobcats, coyotes, red foxes, and American badgers. Other causes of mortality include disease, parasites, and road traffic.
Climate Vulnerability
A Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory study suggests that a warming climate may result in more rabies cases in skunks.
Never stop learning
First Nations: The Abenaki word for skunk is “segonku.” The Abenaki Nation is an Algonquian-speaking North American Indian tribe.
Etymology: The Roman goddess Mephitis protected the people of Rome from the foul-smelling gases of volcanoes.
Paleontology: Researchers using genetic evidence identified fossils of skunks that date back 40 million years.
Literature: In the essay “January Thaw” from A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold describes the behavior of a skunk as it takes advantage of a temporary bout of warm weather.
Invasive Species: The striped skunk was introduced to Europe through the pet trade and has become an invasive species
References
| The Winter Life of the Skunk https://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/winter-skunk |
| Kiiskila, J. 2014. “Mephitis mephitis” (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 22, 2021 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mephitis_mephitis/ |
| The Chemistry of Skunk Spray – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnSTOsIt1f8 |
| Raghavan RK, Hanlon CA, Goodin DG, Davis R, Moore M, Moore S, et al. (2016) Bayesian Spatiotemporal Pattern and Eco-climatological Drivers of Striped Skunk Rabies in the North Central Plains. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(4): e0004632. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004632 |
| Hwang, Yeen Ten. “Physiological and ecological aspects of winter torpor in captive and free-ranging striped skunks.” (2005). https://harvest.usask.ca/handle/10388/etd-05122005-100006 |
| Ojibwe People’s Dictionary: Skunk https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/zhigaag-na |