NPS What creature is fluffy, boldly colored, and packs a chemical defense so powerful it can stop even bears in their tracks? That’s right, we’re talking about our iconic friend clad in black and white: the skunk. There are four species of skunks found in the Southeast Arizona parks. The most familiar of these is the striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis, which is found throughout the mainland United States and is a common resident of suburban areas. Striped skunks are closely related to hooded skunks, Mephitis macroura, which are similar in appearance but have longer fur around their head and a white back that resembles a hood. Another resident of southeast Arizona is the white-backed hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus leuconotus, which can be distinguished by its long, furless nose. The smallest resident skunk is the western spotted skunk, which is instantly recognizable by its beautiful spotted and striped coat and small size. Skunks are most commonly found in thick, brushy areas in uplands and rocky, riparian canyons and are less common in the low desert. They are active during the night and forage by sniffing and digging in the ground, searching for insects, lizards, eggs, fruit, grubs, and mice. All skunk species exhibit bright black-and-white coloration, an example of a phenomenon known as aposematism: when dangerous or noxious creatures have coloration that attracts attention to warn potential predators that they are not worth attacking. Skunks combine their contrasting colors with warning behaviors, including lifting their tail, hissing, and stomping their feet at a perceived threat. If these warnings fail to deter a predator, they expel a liquid from scent glands located on each side of the anus. This spray contains compounds called thiols, the same chemical found in onions, that give the spray its foul odor. Skunks can hit targets up to three meters away and can spray up to six times in a row. However, their body takes several days to produce more of the liquid, during which they are defenseless if they have run out of spray, so they reserve spraying for a last resort. Although the smell of a skunk’s spray is very potent, it may seem that a hungry predator wouldn’t mind putting up with a bad smell for a while to get a meal. However, many of the skunk’s predators, including bobcats and coyotes, rely on their sense of smell to navigate their territories, track and capture food, and communicate with other members of the same species. Being hit with skunk spray overwhelms their sense of smell for days on end, rendering their nose useless and putting them at a serious disadvantage. Most animals, rather than risk having their nose blinded in this way, would prefer to leave skunks alone and go for an easier meal. This defense doesn’t work as well on all predators, however. What other animal is active at night, large enough to eat a skunk, and doesn’t rely on their sense of smell? If you guessed a great horned owl, you are correct! These formidable birds are one of the primary predators of skunks. Skunks, in all their smelly glory, play a key role in maintaining the balance of the ecosystems of southeast Arizona. They are both prey and predators, keeping populations of small mammals and insects in check. The southeast Arizona parks wouldn’t be (or smell!) the same without them! 
NPS White-backed hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus leuconotus It’s easy to see how the hog-nosed skunk earned their name! Their most distinguishing feature is their long, furless nose, which they use to root through the soil and leaf litter to look for insects, grubs, worms, snails, bulbs, and roots. Additionally, they have a solid white back, back of the head, and tail, similarly to a hooded skunk. However, their tail is proportionally shorter than a hooded skunk, and in addition to their much longer nose, they don’t have a white stripe on their face like hooded and striped skunks do. 
NPS Hooded skunk, Mephihtis macroura Hooded skunks are only found in the southern areas of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. They get their name from the long fur on the back of their neck, which makes it look like they are wearing a hood. Hooded skunks are either solid white on the back of their neck and back, or mostly black with two thin white stripes running up the sides of their body towards their cheeks. All have a thin white stripe on their nose. They are sometimes confused with striped skunks that have lots of white coloration, but striped skunks lack the long fur on the back of their neck and have a tail that is the same or shorter than their body length, while hooded skunks’ tails are longer than their body length. They are also sometimes confused with the white-backed hog-nosed skunk, but they lack the long, fleshy nose of a hog-nosed skunk and also have a proportionally longer tail. 
NPS Striped skunk, Mephitis mephitis Striped skunks are the most well-known skunk species. They are found throughout the mainland United States and are common in suburbs and places with human disturbance. They are one of the larger skunk species and have two stripes running down their back, a long, black and white tail, and a thin white stripe on their face. Because striped skunks sometimes have a solid white back, they can be confused with the hooded skunk. However, they can be distinguished from hooded skunks because the fur on their back and head is shorter and lies closer to the body, and their tail is equal to or shorter than their body length. A hooded skunk will have long fur on their back in head, have a smaller body and a proportionally longer tail. 
NPS Western spotted skunk, Spilogale gracilis The Western spotted skunk is the smallest and most distinctive of the skunks found in southeast Arizona. They are approximately the size of a squirrel and the only skunk known to climb trees. Their black coat is brightly patterned with spots and swirls of white, and they have a white dot between their eyes. While all skunks warn off predators by raising their tail, the spotted skunk goes one step further and does a headstand to show that they mean business!
References: Amy Tikkanen. “thiol.” Britannica, Oct 22, 2007. https://www.britannica.com/science/thiol. “Chemical defense.” Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/chemoreception/Chemical-defense. Dragoo, Jerry. “The Evolutionary Relationships of Skunks to Each Other and the Rest of the Weasels; with a note on Behavioral Idiosyncrasies.” Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings. December 1993, pp. 330 Fisher, Kimberly. Stankowich, Theodore. “Antipredator strategies of striped skunks in response to cues of aerial and terrestrial predators.” Animal Behaviour, vol 143, September 2018, pp. 25-34. Lartviere, Serge. Messier Francois. “Aposematic Behaviour in the Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis.” Ethology, vol 102, January-December 1996, pp. 986-992. “Mammals.” Saguaro National Park, National Park Service, 28 May 2019, https://www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/nature/mammals.htm. “Mustelids.” Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. https://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_mustelids.php. “Mustelids (Badgers and Skunks).” Saguaro National Park, National Park Service, 26 February 2015, https://www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/nature/badgers-and-skunks.htm. “Why Do Skunks Spray?” North American Nature. https://northamericannature.com/why-do-skunks-spray/. |
Last updated: January 15, 2022
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