Why do skunks have stripes

While not truly hibernating, striped skunks experience extended periods of inactivity during winter. Male striped skunks breed with multiple females, and are rejected by the females after mating occurs. Female striped skunks typically give birth once each year, with breeding occurring between February and April. In some cases, a secondary breeding period will occur in May in the event that the first litter was lost, or pseudopregnacny occurs. Striped skunks can experience delayed implantation lasting up to 19 days.

After a gestation period of 59 to 77 days, a litter of two to ten skunks is born. Young, called kits or kittens, are born helpless, with eyes opening at about 3 weeks and weaning occurring at 6 to 7 weeks.

Once they are weaned, the young skunks will follow their mother in a single file line and learn to forage and hunt. There is a high mortality rate among skunks; many do not survive beyond their first year. Young striped skunks reach sexual maturity at about 10 months.

The average lifespan of striped skunks in the wild is 7 years. They can live up to 10 years in human care. Threats to striped skunks include severe weather, naturally occurring predation and disease, exposure to chemicals and other human activities. Rabies outbreaks have affected populations in Illinois. Additionally, most states permit skunk harvesting year-round.

Skunks used to be hunted for their skins in the early s, but demand decreased in the s and 60s. Some harvesting continues today.

Skip to main content. Entry passes are required for all guests, including infants. All visitors ages 2 and older are required to wear a mask in all indoor spaces at the Zoo, regardless of their vaccination status. Fully vaccinated visitors do not need to wear a mask in outdoor areas. This blog shows you how eMammal scientists differentiate between the hog-nosed skunk, hooded skunk, and spotted skunks that all reside around Guadalajara.

The American hog-nosed skunk Conepatus leuconotus is one of the largest species in the world. Unlike other skunks they do not have a white dot or medial bar between their eyes. The fur on their body is mostly black, and their snout is long and naked, giving this skunk its name.

They have a single or sometimes double white stripe from the top of their head to the base of an all-white tail, which is shorter in length when compared to the body. Behaviorally, they tend to arch their tails and have a specific posture. The white-backed variety has a back and tail that is white, as well as two lateral white stripes along its sides.

The black-backed hooded skunk has the white lateral stripes from the neck to hips, a black tail with white hairs at the tip, and sometimes a thin, white, vertical stripe between the eyes. The all black variety does not have a white back or lateral stripes. It is a rare observed, even on camera traps.

The tail for all variations is generally longer than their body. Although there are several species of spotted skunks, they are nearly impossible to distinguish from each other and the range boundaries are not fully defined.

Skunks are omnivores, which means they eat both meat and vegetation. Their diet consists of plants, insects, larvae, worms, fruit, eggs, reptiles, small mammals and fish. Female skunks give birth every year. Their gestation period often lasts around two months and they give birth to two to 10 offspring at a time.

Baby skunks are called kits. Kits are blind when born, since their eyes are sealed shut until around the age of 3 weeks, according to the San Diego Zoo. They are weaned at 2 months old. After they are weaned, they leave the den and at to 10 to 12 months old they are ready to have their own kits. Skunks have very short lives and often live only around three years. In captivity they can live a little longer, usually seven to eight years.

Until recently, skunks were considered part of the Mustelid family, related to weasels, otters and badgers.