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The claws also help with pinning down live and active prey. [14] Skunks are one of the primary predators of the honeybee, relying on their thick fur to protect them from stings. The skunk scratches at the front of the beehive and eats the guard bees that come out to investigate. [15] Mother skunks are known to teach this behavior to their young.
The striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. [3] It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on account of its wide range and ability to adapt to human-modified environments.
Spotted skunks can live 10 years in captivity, but in the wild, about half the skunks die after 1 or 2 years. Conservation The eastern spotted skunk, S. putorius , is a conservation concern.
The twelve species of Mephitidae are split into four genera: the monotypic Conepatus, hog-nosed skunks; Mephitis, skunks; Mydaus, stink badgers; and Spilogale, spotted skunks. Mephitidae was traditionally a clade within the Mustelidae family, with the stink badgers combined with other badgers within the Melinae genus, but more recent genetic ...
Recent work has concluded the western hog-nosed skunk (formerly Conepatus mesoleucus) is the same species, and Conepatus leuconotus is the correct name of the merged populations. [3] In Texas, it is commonly known as the rooter skunk for its habit of rooting and overturning rocks and debris in search of food.
Each female skunk typically has one litter, while male skunks can father multiple litters. Usually, each litter produces four to six baby skunks in May or June. Baby skunks are called kits.
The western spotted skunk was first described by Clinton Hart Merriam in 1890; [18] its specific name, gracilis, is derived from the Latin for "slender". [3] There remains discussion on whether the western spotted skunk is a subspecies of the eastern spotted skunk (S. putorius), a common skunk in the eastern United States. Many support the idea ...
Eastern spotted skunks usually breed in March or April and give birth in late May or early June. [9] On average the female skunk gives birth to 4–5 baby skunks (kits) at a time. It takes twelve weeks before newborn skunks will become fully developed into adult skunks and two months before they develop skunk musk to use as self-defense.