There are two species of skunks in Missouri, the more familiar striped skunk and the lesser known spotted skunk. The common name, skunk, is of Algonquian Indian origin while the words "striped" and "spotted" refer to the predominant markings. The spotted skunk is also called a civet cat, but this name is misleading and incorrect because this mammal is not closely related to the true civets of the Old World or to cats.
Description
Both skunks are predominantly black with their typical white markings. The striped skunk is the larger of the two, varying in length from 20-30 inches (508-762 mm), and in weight from 3 1/2-10 pounds (1.5-4.5 kg). The spotted skunk is only 14-22 inches (355-558 mm) long and weighs from 3/4-2 3/4 pounds (340-l,247 g).
Skunks are notorious for their ability to discharge an obnoxious scent upon provocation. This disagreeable scent, or musk, is secreted by two internal glands located at the base of the tail in both sexes. These glands open to the outside through small nipples; when the tail is down, the nipples are hidden, but when it is raised, the nipples are exposed. The skunk exercises voluntary control over these scent glands and can aim behind, to either side of or in front of itself by changing the direction of aim of the nipples. The scent glands contain approximately one tablespoon (15 g) of thick, volatile, oily liquid which is enough for five or six rounds. The musk of skunks is painful to the eyes, but does not cause permanent blindness.
Distribution and abundance
These two skunks occur throughout Missouri but are least numerous in the Mississippi Lowland where there is little high land for den sites. Nowhere in its range is the spotted skunk as common as the striped skunk, and in recent years it has declined drastically, especially in the Prairie Region, probably due to loss of habitat.
Habitat and home
The striped skunk is at home in a variety of habitats. It prefers forest borders, brushy field corners, fence rows and open grassy fields broken by wooded ravines and rocky outcrops, where permanent water is nearby. Spotted skunks inhabit the open prairies more than striped skunks do, although the two may be found in many similar habitats. The den of a skunk is customarily in the ground, but occasionally is located in a stump, refuse dump, cave, rock pile, crevice in a cliff, farm building, wood pile or haystack. 
Habits
Striped skunks leave their dens in the late afternoon or early evening and forage most of the night. Although the home range may have a diameter of l-1 1/2 miles (1.6-2.4 km) in any night, the skunk may meander over only a small portion of it. Spotted skunks tend to have a smaller home range.
In autumn, striped skunks acquire a layer of fat and as the weather gets colder, spend more time in their dens. When the temperature nears freezing, they become drowsy and sleep intermittently. However, the body temperature does not become lowered as in the case of most truly hibernating animals. By contrast, spotted skunks hunt in fields during good winter weather and forage in barns or similarly protected locations during wet or very cold weather.
Foods
Skunks eat plant and animal foods in about equal amounts during fall and winter but take considerably more animal matter during spring and summer when insects, their preferred food, are more available. Bees, wasps and their hives, together with larvae and honey, are also eaten. Skunks also consume large numbers of mice and rats as well as moles, shrews, ground squirrels, young rabbits and chipmunks. The larger mammals are usually eaten as carrion while the smaller ones are caught by the skunk. Birds and their eggs are rarely eaten. An economic evaluation of the feeding habits shows that about 68 percent of the diet is beneficial to man, 27 percent neutral and only 5 percent harmful.
Reproduction
Striped skunks begin to breed in February. Females more than 1 year old mate at this time while younger females mate about a month later. The single litter of four to six young is born from early May to early June. Spotted skunks mate in late winter and the young are born from April to July; possibly a second litter is produced in late summer. At birth, young skunks of both species are almost naked, but they possess the beginning of the adult's characteristic black and white markings.
Importance
Striped skunk fur is thick and glossy and is graded according to the amount of white, those with the least white being the most valuable. Skunk meat untainted with musk is tender and good eating. Skunks are efficient mousers and also contribute to the control of insects; for these reasons, they are an asset around farms and should be tolerated and regarded as interesting and valuable members of a farm wildlife community.
Management
As a precaution against depredation by skunks, chicken houses should be properly fenced and beehives raised off the ground. When skunks are not desired, they can be eliminated by keeping farm yards clean, repairing possible accesses in farm buildings, gathering eggs daily and burying dead poultry. The practice of digging skunks from their dens should be discouraged.
This series is abstracted from the revised edition of The Wild Mammals of Missouri by Charles and Elizabeth Schwartz. For more detailed information about this species and other mammals in Missouri, refer to this book. Your school library may have it or can borrow it for you from the inter-library loan service. This book can be purchased from the University of Missouri Press, P.O. Box 1644, Columbia, MO 65211, or the Missouri Department of Conservation, P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Missouri Mammals
This project funded by the l/8 of 1 percent conservation sales tax.
© 1981 Missouri Conservation Commission
