Skunk Mating

Best known for their pungent spray, skunks are more often smelled than seen. However they are gentle and non-aggressive animals. They eat pesky grubs, insects and small rodents, so they are beneficial to have around the garden. Skunk mating takes place in late winter or spring, and skunk odor often indicates that mating season has arrived.

Identification

Skunks are easily identified by their striking black and white stripes and long tails. Measuring between 15 and 35 inches from snout to tail and weighing from 5 to 15 pounds, skunks are nocturnal and rarely seen. However, their distinctive odor is easily recognizable. Skunks can spray up to 15 feet with great accuracy, and the spray is used for self defense and to mark territory. Female skunks are picky about mates, and when a potential suitor does not meet her approval, she will spray him and move on.

Function

Skunks mate once a year. Males are territorial and may fight with other males over females during breeding season. Male skunks are polygamous, meaning they can mate with several females during the season. Between territorial spraying, males fighting and females spraying males they don't approve of, a lot of skunk odor is generated in early spring.

Geography

Skunks are adaptable animals and are found throughout Canada, United States and Mexico. They sometimes dig their own dens, but are more likely to use abandoned burrows, wood or brush piles and hollow trees. In urbanized areas, they may den under houses, in garden sheds or abandoned cars. Female skunks line a den with grass, leaves or any available soft material before giving birth. Although skunks are usually solitary animals, in colder climates several may share a burrow for warmth, and several litters will be raised together.

Benefits

Skunks can delay implantation of the fertilized egg after mating. The egg may remain dormant for many weeks before implanting on the uterine wall. If mating occurs early in spring and the weather is expected to remain cold for some time, this ability ensures that the female skunk will go through pregnancy and birthing in warmer weather, when food is more plentiful.

Size

Baby skunks are born in litters of four to seven kits after a gestation period of 60 to 77 days. The babies weigh about one ounce each and are deaf, blind and hairless. By six weeks, they are weaned and start following the mother skunk out at night to forage for food. They stay with their mother for up to a year.

Considerations

Male skunks play no role in raising the kits. Their only contact with the female is during mating.

Potential

Skunks have the potential to be house pets, and many people have successfully raised orphaned baby skunks. Like ferrets, they are intelligent, clean and inquisitive animals. The scent glands can be removed when they are young, eliminating any risk of spraying. While they often carry rabies in the wild, they can be inoculated against rabies as pets. However, pet skunks are illegal and restricted in many states, and breeding them in captivity usually requires a USDA permit. The link below has information on pet skunks.

Resources

• Animal diversity web: Wild skunks
• Skunks as pets