Prairie skunk or Striped Skunk Skull, Brain Endocast & Negative Footprint Replicas are museum quality polyurethane resin casts. Made in USA.
Prairie skunk or Striped Skunk Skull, Brain Endocast & Negative Footprint Replicas are museum quality polyurethane resin casts. Made in USA.
The Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.
The Prairie skunk or Striped Skunk is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on account of its wide range and ability to adapt to human-modified environments.
They have few natural enemies. Predators stay clear unless they are starving. The risk of being blinded by the musk does not outweigh the gain of calories.
Gray and red foxes, badgers, bobcats, coyotes and cougars are the few that will attempt an encounter.
Predatory eagles and owls have better odds. Striped skunks are major carriers of the rabies virus. They are accountable for one quarter of the annual cases in the United States. Raccoons are responsible for more.
Insects are the primary source of the skunk’s sustenance. Crickets, caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, bees and larvae are the most common.
Crayfish, worms, various arthropods and other invertebrates are consumed on occasion.
The spring and winter months are supplemented with white-footed mice, eggs, voles and baby chicks found in ground nests.
Fish, carrion, reptiles and amphibians are eaten when available. Costal California striped skunks feed on beached fish and crabs.
The Prairie skunk dines on vegetables and fruits when they are in season. Blueberries, black cherries, ground cherries, apples, corn and nightshade are abundant.
Their sharp claws are used to eviscerate rotting logs to uncover grubs and unearth soil or pin down prey. The shallow pits left behind are the easiest way to notice their presence in a habitat. Woodlands and open fields near rocky outcrops and ravines are their preferred landscapes.
