By: Brandon B. (Bowdoinham Community School, Grade 4)
My name is Brandon. I chose the striped skunk because I like the design on their backs. I like them a lot because they are cute.
The skunk is black and white. He is two feet long at least. Also, he is small and furry. He weighs 3 - 10 pounds. His stripe on his back is like a capital V!
The skunk hibernates at winter. They often live near humans, even right under dwellings. In the woods or forest or whatever you call it they live in used animal dens. They also sometimes live in underground dens like a hole in the ground.
The striped and other skunks eat a lot of different foods like ...........birds, eggs, worms, grubs, and other insects. Also they eat mice, rats, and other small tiny rodents. For capturing one you could use cat food, fish, or chicken.
Skunks breed in February and March with a 7-10 week gestation. Skunks normally have one litter per year.
The skunk is active at night (nocturnal). His tracks are sort of weird. The front tracks are smaller than back tracks. Skunks raid garbage cans, damage bee hives, and they damage your lawn. Their main predator is the Great Horned Owl. The skunk sprays musk to scare off enemies. The skunk sprays at least 10-15 FEET! It sprays only when frightened. It stamps its feet and growls before it sprays.
The World Book Encyclopedia 1994 Edition
Critter Control (sheet) Netscape
Striped Skunk, U of Michigan Animal Diversity Web