EASTERN SPOTTED SKUNK
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Spilogale putorius
OTHER NAMES: Civet cat, polecat, hydrophoby cat.
Eastern Spotted Skunk
Relatives in same Genus
Western Spotted Skunk (S. gracilis) ...
Spotted skunks are much more active and alert than any of the other skunks. They occur largely in wooded areas and tall-grass prairies, preferring rocky canyons and outcrops when such sites are available.
Eastern Spotted Skunk
Spilogale putorius interrupta (Rafinesque)
Description: Although both have striking black and white warning coloration, ...
Western Spotted Skunk
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mephitidae
Spilogale gracilis - inset shows pattern variation among a family
Click to enlarge. (94 kb) ...
The Eastern Spotted Skunk, Spilogale putoriur, is found in dry prairies, fields, and brush statewide except for the Keys. It is also commonly called "civet cat" and "weasel skunk".
Spotted skunks do nurture their young. The young skunks have been observed trailing after their mothers on her nightly hunting trips. They often share large nests in the winter but do not hibernate.
(Citellus spp.), coyotes (Canis latrans), red foxes (Vulpes fulva), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), raccoons (Procyon lotor), long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), minks (Mustela vison), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), spotted skunks ...
The two common skunks of the United States, the striped skunk and the spotted skunk, are nocturnal animals; their diets include rodents, insects, eggs, carrion, and vegetable matter.
We also ended up seeing a desert tortoise, a spotted skunk, and a bobcat, and two young women who themselves had seen a Gila monster earlier in the evening.
Predators of eggs and nestlings include Raccoons, Virginia Opossums, Striped Skunks, Gray foxes, raptors, Groundhogs, other rodents, spotted skunks, rat snakes, Gopher Snakes, and pinesnakes.
Florida is home to both the Eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) and the Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). They occur throughout Florida except for the Keys.
In the southeast and central United States, Mexico, and Central America is the small, slender spotted skunk which has several white stripes or lines and spots. Its fur has less value than that of the striped skunk.
A number of organisms are intimately associated with desert tortoise burrows (summarized by Grover and DeFalco 1995): ground squirrels, PEROMYSCUS and pocket mice, kangaroo rats, woodrats, jackrabbits, desert cottontail, domestic cat, spotted skunk, ...
(70 cm) and in weight from about 1.1 lb. (0.5 kg) (the spotted skunks) to 9.92 lb. (4.5 kg) (the hog-nosed skunks) They have a moderately elongated body with reasonably short, well-muscled legs, and long front claws for digging.
The coat of the eastern spotted skunk has swirls of black and white. The white markings are distinctive for every individual. Humboldt's hog-nosed skunk is black or reddish brown with a white stripe down each side of its body.
Two to five eggs are laid, but nest predation by snakes, Western Spotted Skunk, Island Fox, Common Raven, and possibly other Island Scrub-Jays is high. However, once the chicks fledge, average life expectancy is 4.8 years.
 See also: Skunk, Striped Skunk, Weasel, Burro, Coyote
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