Striped Skunk Skunks are carnivores and members of the weasel family. The striped skunk is a furry, glossy black animal, the size of a house cat, with two distinct white stripes. Usually active at dusk and night, they do not retire until after sunrise. During winter, they are more or less dormant, however, true hibernation does not occur.
Skunks prefer areas of mixed woodlands and fields.
Autumn food consists of fruit, nuts, seeds, mice, shrews, carrion and garbage. In the summer, more than half their food consists of insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars and wasps. The skunk's method of defense has given the animal an undeserved bad reputation, since it will spray only as a last resort. First it will try to run away. If this does not work, it turns to face the danger, stomping its front feet.