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Striped Skunk

Mephitis mephitis

Photo by Josh Asel
Published on Project Noah
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38.2735, -123.006

Field Notes

Description:

The striped skunk has a black body with a white stripe along each side of its body; the two stripes join into a broader white area at the nape. Its forehead has a narrow white stripe. Similar in size to a domestic cat, this species is the heaviest species of skunk, though it is not as long (in body or tail length) as the American hog-nosed skunk.

Notes:

So I saw an animal crossing the road hoping it was a skunk so I chased it down with my car and pulled off the road. I ran up to where I last saw him and there he was trying to escape into the rocks next to the shore of the ocean. I shouted "Hey!" and he turned for a second so I could take a shot before he took off again. I kept chasing him down but he didn't stop and I glimpsed him sinking into the rocks. Happy Earth Day :)

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (8)

Love this "name's-the-same" on the scientific name: Mephitis mephitis. Here's an old blog post about binomial names: http://blog.projectnoah.org/post/33711375932/anser-anser-whats-the-question
Thank you Mona :) Happy [late] Earth Day!
Thanks Sachindra! loonszeto, i've posted two. when their glands have been removed, they are incredible cute and gentle to handle. what's gross is rescuing one out of someone's backyard. the smell is still on my hands and in my car, but the really are nice.
Cute but gross. How many have u posted?

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