| Occasionally
seen in Wind Cave National Park, the striped skunk is best known
for
its smelly reputation. About the size of a house cat, it may be recognized
by it black body, narrow white stripe up the middle of the forehead,
and broad white area on the nape, which usually divides into a V
at about the shoulders. The striped skunk inhabits semi-open
country
including mixed woods, brushland, and open prairie, normally within
two miles of water. Skunks are chiefly nocturnal, starting hunting
after sunset. Their diet is an omnivorous mix of mice, eggs, insects,
grubs, berries, and carrion. Dens are located in ground burrows,
beneath
abandoned buildings, boulders, or wood or rock piles. Several females
may den together in winter, whereas males tend to be solitary.
As
many as ten young are born in May and may be seen accompanying the
mother in late June or July, following in single file. |
|
