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Skunk has historic use as an insult, attested from 1841. [4] In 1634, a skunk was described in The Jesuit Relations: The other is a low animal, about the size of a little dog or cat. I mention it here, not on account of its excellence, but to make of it a symbol of sin. I have seen three or four of them.
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 ...
Mephitidae is a family of mammals comprising the skunks and stink badgers. They are noted for the great development of their anal scent glands , which they use to deter predators. Skunks were formerly classified as a subfamily of the Mustelidae (the weasel family); however, in the 1990s, genetic evidence caused skunks to be treated as a ...
Hog-nosed skunk. The distinguishing feature of the American hog-nosed skunk is it has a single, broad white stripe from the top of the head to the base of the tail, with the tail itself being completely white. It is the only skunk that lacks a white dot or medial bar between the eyes and has primarily black body fur.
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.
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.
Foraging mainly at night, the skunk is omnivorous, eating birds, small mammals, eggs, insects, leaves, and fruit. The tooth morphology in the Molina's hog-nosed skunk, is different from most mammals in that their teeth are adapted to their omnivorous diet with grinding being the main function of the carnassial apparatus.