Kingdom:  Animalia
Phylum:  Chordata
Class:  Mammalia
Order:  Carnivora
Family:  Mustelidae

    Striped skunks are found in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  They are easy to recognize because of the white stripes that go from their noses to their tails.  The rest of their bodies are black.  Skunks are famous for their smell.  If a skunk is in danger, it will spray an awful smelling liquid called musk.  The skunk gives a warning before doing this.  It will stamp its front feet and growl.  It's best to get away then!  Skunks can hit their targets from 12 feet away.  The odor will stay on the sprayed thing for days. 
    Skunks live in woods, grasslands, and deserts.  They make underground dens that they line with leaves.  Sometimes they use dens that have been left by other animals.  If skunks live near towns, they like to live under buildings or somewhere that they can be dry and safe.  When they hibernate, they plug up the opening of the den so that their heat stays in and some of the cold stays out.
    They are omnivorous.  They eat insects, mice, rats, birds, eggs, and even fruit.  They are from 13-18 inches long and weigh from 3-10 pounds.  Their size is about the same as a house cat.  Skunks are nocturnal.  If they live near towns, skunks love to get into garbage cans for dinner.  They sleep during the day.
    Striped skunks mate anytime between February and March.  The female is pregnant for 2-3 months and gives birth to 2-10 babies.  The babies are born with a small amount of black and white hair.  They follow in a line behind their mothers and leave her when they are about eight months old.
    During the summer, the male skunk usually stays by himself.  The females travel with their babies until they get old enough to go off by themselves.  Females will hibernate during the winter in the same den with other females.  There is usually only one male that hibernates with the group of females.
    When fall comes, skunks fatten up a little for hibernation.  Sometimes the animals will move to colder weather.  Scientists agree that skunks go into torpor [like bears] instead of true hibernation.  The body temperature and heart beats go down, but not as low as hibernation.  Even though some skunks seem to stay in a deeper hibernation for about one hundred days, this changes depending on the skunk and where it lives.  Mostly, the skunk will go into torpor for shorter times, wake up when it gets a little warmer, and even go outside.  They might eat something and then go back into torpor.  With torpor, skunks can wake up when there is a warmer day in winter.  If they were true hibernators, they would sleep right through these single days because waking up takes longer for them.

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