page_title: Striped skunk
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Striped skunk / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: White striped skunk skull from North America
context_page_description: The striped skunk is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that occurs across most of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on account of its wide range and ability to adapt to human-modified environments.
  Striped skunks are polygamous omnivores with few natural predators, save for birds of prey. Like all skunks, they possess highly developed, musk-filled scent glands to ward off predators. They have a long history of association with humans, having been trapped and captively bred for their fur and kept as pets. Striped skunks are one of the most recognizable of North America's animals, and are a popular figure in cartoons and children's books.
context_section_description: The striped skunk is a stoutly-built, short-limbed animal with a small, conical head and a long, heavily furred tail. Adult males are 10% larger than females, with both sexes measuring between 52–77 cm in total body length and usually weighing 1.8–4.5 kg (4.0–9.9 lb), though some may weigh 5.5 kg (12 lb). The feet are plantigrade with bare soles, and are not as broad or flat as those of hog-nosed skunks. The forefeet are armed with five long, curved claws adapted for digging, while those on the hind feet are shorter and straighter.
  The color patterns of the fur vary greatly, but generally consist of a black base with a white stripe extending from the head which divides along the shoulders, continuing along the flanks to the rump and tail. Some specimens have a white patch on the chest, while others bear white stripes on the outer surface of the front limbs. Brown or cream-colored mutations occasionally occur.
  Like all skunks, the striped skunk possesses two highly developed scent glands, one on each side of the anus, containing about 15 milliliters of musk each, which provides a chemical defense against predation. This oily, yellow-colored musk consists of a mixture of powerfully odorous thiols (sulfur analogues of alcohols, in older sources called "mercaptans"), which can be sprayed at a distance of several meters. The odor of this musk was likened by Ernest Thompson Seton to a mixture of perfume musk, essence of garlic, burning sulfur and sewer gas "magnified a thousand times", though Clinton Hart Merriam claimed that it isn't "one tenth" as offensive as that produced by minks and weasels. It can be sprayed at a distance of several meters. If sprayed on the eyes, this compound can cause a temporary burning sensation.
caption: Skull of a striped skunk
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