Striped Skunk
Mephitis mephitis
- Habitat: Forests, coastal swamps, deserts and scrubland
- Range: Across North America (Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A)
- Natural Diet: Insects, small mammals, birds, eggs, fish, and crustaceans
- Status in the Wild: Common
Fun Facts
- Striped skunks are habitat generalists
- They have an excellent defense strategies against predators; they spray a foul smelling liquid that can cause temporary blindness
- Another defense mechanism is stomping their feet and arching their backs and lifting their tails
- They are active by night and their coat color of black and white help them camouflage hiding them from their predators
Conservation Threats
The major threats are:
- Habitat loss, agricultural practices, and pollution through chemicals used in agricultural fields and in forests.
- Illegal hunting and trapping also can have a detrimental influence on their numbers in the wild
