I tip my hat to Marie, it's wonderful the work she does. I hope her work sheds light on the need to preserve and study our existing, dwindling resources.
dwindling resources? Go to Google Earth and take a bird's eye view of North America, then tell me how much of what you see is uninhabitable by animals?
I haven't seen a single skunk in 31 years of living in western Washington. But they were relatively common in my childhood in NE Texas/Oklahoma. If they get into your hen house it is bad news, but in general they just go about their business. Of course being mammals and carnivores they can carry and die from rabies.
We have skunks that live in our backyard. They tried making a home under our shed a few years back. I can always smell them when they walk near our house but rarely do we see them. They are adorable and I love that they are here.
I'm in Minnetonka Minnesota haven't seen a striped skunk ever but have smelled them occasionally when they interact with cars. Are you rural or suburban ? I'd love to have them instead of the scourge rabbits that eat all my perennials and elude capture
There are striped skunks around where I hang out, southern Ontario (Toronto) and a bit north, (Barrie and Orillia) They are so damn oblivious, at least the ones a bit north are skittish, if I see one in the distance I can shine my flashlight at them and stamp on the ground and they will move on and I can walk by The ones in Toronto just don't give AF, they just do their thing, if there's one on the sidewalk ahead of me digging in the curb strip I can't scare it off at all, I have to cross the street to the other side to be able to get by without getting in spray range But like I said is they are oblivious, if you don't see them first, they will never see you first, and you might walk right up to one, when I'm walking around at 4am i tend to walk down the middle of the road so I can see ahead good and don't surprise a skunk
Back east, Pennsylvania, an aunt allowed a skunk to nest under the back porch. No one ever knew she was there until some bad kids got drunk and decided to roust the half-breeds (we're metis). this was about the 3rd time that summer they threw rocks at the farmhouse, mocking them, an elderly couple, when the mother skunk heard my aunt scream. The skunk and babies came out armed for war. It took a few weeks for the stench to fade but those kids never did come back. One thing about skunks is, clearcutting old-growth forests made their population boom. Old-growth is a deadlands where little can survive in the high CO2, dark environment. Brush ground is vital, alive, and filled with things that demand all the CO2 they can get. And skunks, of course :)
Old growth is an eden for biodiversity and houses species from salamanders to deer where the old trees create a nursery for growing newer plants. It's quite the opposite of a dead zone.
@@MegInWhispersits context is the northeast where old growth is not very old. Our woodlands are very sick and nothing like true old growth shown here except in a couple lucky pockets. I believe there is something to what they said, but the answer is well managed native grassland dispersed among a mosaic woodland, wetland, and prairie environment, as it once was in our hills. The northeast is very different to the north west. We’ve got a ton of acres of high graded woods that is as OP described. Not good wildlife habitat. A lot of times it grows to near monoculture red maple with invasive understory after clear cuts, and we have a lot of old abandoned introduced red pine plantations that are extremely dense. I don’t think the old growth woods should get cut but I don’t think op does either.
I've seen them a couple of times in the foothills west of Los Angeles. One time we had a mother and two young spotted skunks in out backyard. The young skunks were playing like puppies or kittens, but then would back away and run at each other with their backs in the air. They were over the top cute.
I remember when we had baby skunks in our yard. I loved watching them trying to dig for grubs in the ground. Sometimes they're back-end would come up because of the force they were putting into the front end 😂
My favorite time of year is when the kits first leave their dens. They are super curious and fearless. I love playing with them. Use your hand to simulate their stomps and they will return it. They might wrestle with your hand so wear gloves if you are concerned about rabies. I’m vaccinated.
I adore skunks. I had a baby skunk for awhile as a pet when i was young. It was so cute but they are very curious and require a LOT of supervision. They aren't like cats or dogs. They will get into everything and make a huge mess. So don't get one based on the cuteness factor like we did. I was working all the time and going to school and it just didn't work out. I still miss that cute little critter. But she was a handful 😂 I was in HS and when I was at work, the skunk would be on my mom's foot trying to bat at the fuzzy ball on the back of her sock. It would ride on her foot. 😂 and when I would take it for a walk, it would follow me, not lead. The dog was afraid of it even though the dog was larger. It was too cute though 😊
It is my belief that every creature on this earth has a purpose, from the smallest to the largest. I love the work you're doing and hope the Western Spotted Skunk can survive and thrive.
No species has a purpose because that would imply that there is a plan and someone or something consciously planning. Every species is trying to find a niche where they can survive, thrive, and reproduce. Those that don't die off
@ Purpose does not necessarily imply someone in control. Purpose can mean how the different living things work together and thereby create a harmony and health that otherwise would not be.
As a boy I lived in the city and would only smell skunk on vacations to the country and so to this day, after 55 years of rural living, I still feel like I'm on vacation whenever I smell it.
I'm not sure if it was the Western Spotted, but I was up by Monmouth near a lumber yard waiting to deliver. I decided to go for a walk around, thought I spotted a pond nearby. Rounding the corner of the trail, there he was, coming the opposite direction. We both stopped, both surprised. He did a little front feet hop- stomp that told me "Alright, that's close enough". I calmly apologized to the skunk for the intrusion and carefully backed away, keeping my eyes on him. After about five steps back the skunk turned into the brush and was gone.
That was a long, continuous stretch of hard work there, Marie. An impressive effort!. And you uncovered some unique info on some unique critters. Sounds like foundational work that will be cited for years to come. Well done.
In the mountainous part of western NC we are aware that Striped Skunks are around. We are also prone to seeing yellowjackets creating subterranean nests, usually just below the surface, or of course, on structures such as the underside of decks. One summer I sprayed one such attached nest; within a month another started close by. On the day I planned to carefully spray that one, also, we awoke to find it torn down, with remnants scattered under the deck. We assumed it might have been a skunk. The next year, an underground nest was spotted up a hillside near our deck; shortly thereafter we got up one morning to see that area dug up and disturbed, parts of the nest scattered. But there was a second entrance (or a second nest) very near the first as yellowjackets were still seen coming and going. That same evening, as dusk fell, a skunk emerged from the woods and went back to the recently disturbed area. It dug vigorously, seemingly impervious to any bees, and tore out the rest of the jacket nest. We never saw any further activity. To us, this was confirmation that the local skunks have a taste for yellowjacket larvae and are apparently not deterred by live bees. Pretty cool.
The skunks around here have adapted very well to the suburbs. I realize they are not the same species as these western spotted skunks, but they are still skunks. I’m in the western suburbs of Chicago. They thrive around here. I was only spraying once walking in a tallgrass prairie at night when I couldn’t see it and I literally stepped on it. It was not hurt.
Not only are they cute, but they are very friendly. I live on the edge of Olympic NP and I've had spotted skunks around here that followed me around (curious) and were totally unafraid of me. One got shut into my garage one night. The next morning, I discovered it sleeping on my table saw. When I opened the garage door, it got languidly up, stretched like a cat/dog, and casually ambled out. Here's the interesting part: later that day I found it dead by my back door and told my wife. She put on latex gloves and examined it to see why it died. She couldn't find any marks of violence on it and concluded it must have died of disease, so I went out with a shovel to bury it when it got up and wandered off, perfectly healthy! The little scamp was playing dead, which I didn't know that they did.
Western spotted skunks are not reliant on old-growth timber habitats. They're also found in the sagebrush and bunchgrass steppes of central and eastern Oregon. I've live-trapped them around Hankock field station in the Clarno Basin; east of Madras at Rimrock Springs and seen them in far north-eastern Oregon. They may thrive better in OG forest habitat, but are certainly not limited to it. BTW: Thanks for the views of the Andrews! I did field work there in the late '80s and fondly remember it. I hope the "biggest Christmas tree" is still there--an open-grown Noble fir of incredible size.
Hey OSU! I went to OSU for a year when I was 16. Also spent most of my life rescuing the odd skunk, western spotteds and nowadays hognoses and stripeds.
Aick im an Oregon grad with a lot of family osu! If I had it to do again I would have gone to osu! I luv the cat vet school! Am on the osu donation list!
@@oldfogey4679 I honestly wish I'd stayed there and pursued an Ag or Zoology degree but I got airs and tried Math in New Mexico. Still root for the Beavers though!
gonna guess why we need skunks. they dig up yellow jacket nests, spread mushroom spores around forest floor, eat termites and carpenter ants. old bee keeper told me they can make a fist, then knock on bee box and eat honey bee guard bees as they check who’s at door. like us humans we try to fit into web of life without doing massive carnage
I recently had a few visits by a Western Spotted Skunk at my home on the outskirts of Tucson, AZ. I was thrilled to see it on my wildlife camera. These guys can manage in wildly different habitats! I love this research for these often underappreciated animals.
Thank you for your intensive persistent research. May all living beings on this planet live in harmony with each other, benefiting each other and thriving together.
Christmas tree growers love skunks! The skunks really have a taste for yellow jacket wasps, digging out the underground nests and making it safe for workers at harvest time.
I live in SE Portland, near the Woodstock area. I smell skunks quite a bit, woke up last night and there was a lovely faint odor of skunk.. in small amounts on the breeze I actually like the fragrance of skunks. Plus they are so dang cute.. I mean Come on! Little stinky hyper balls of adorableness.
How much old growth forest is left? Thank you for this interesting and informative article. I love skunks. Many years ago I had a friend who had a pet skunk. It had not had it's scent glands removed, but only ever sprayed when it encountered aggressive dogs. It was allowed to roam freely (in the suburbs), but seemed to stay within about a mile of it's "home." At night it always came home and slept on my friend's bed with him. It was absolutely adorable. It seemed to enjoy interacting with humans, even often showing up when my friend would have a party. When meeting someone new, it approached cautiously, getting close enough to touch. If the person showed fear, it would back off and stay well away from that person, but if you reached out to it, it would wait for you to pet it. Once you had petted it, it would become very playful and affectionate. One of it's favorite things was to grab someone's shoelace and pull it to untie it. Then it would watch closely as if trying to understand the process of retying the lace. Everyone who got over their fear of being sprayed enjoyed "socializing" with that skunk. I don't know how typical his behavior was, but he was adorable. He was raised by my friend who found him as a tiny little baby, near death and apparently either orphaned or abandoned. My friend was a little different, and seemed to be able to connect with animals more easily than with humans. Knowing him gave me a much greater appreciation of our non-human relatives, but of all the critters he cared for over the years, the skunk was my favorite. Thanks again for this article. It brought back many fond memories.
I love all animals in a balance! I dont know about the spotted but stripe skunks are so cool. I have many times been up to them with them being like hi im busy. One time even one even walked between my legs like I wasnt even there. Just foraging around. I stood still and watch. no smell or spray. Not alarmed or nothing. Very cool even though like probably 30 years ago that is proof I will never forget that few minutes I had. :D
It would be sad if these little guys go the same way as their eastern cousins. Thank you Dr Tosa for doing such an important role in the preservation of our forests.
I've seen these several times at Sikes Hot Springs in Big Sur CA. they are quick, kinda night squirrel if that makes sense! LOL! they were living under the logs that got set up around the fire ring, so they woke me up trying to get into my backpack in the middle of the night. Cute but stinky!! lol
I live in the desert about 80 miles north of Las Vegas on I 15. Last summer, I stepped out of the condo and was surprised to see one inside the walls of the complex. Was also surprised at how tiny they are. He appeared several times for about a week and then disappeared. My daughter got some footage of it when she was coming home from work one night.
Despite the drawbacks we maintain a limited population of striped skunks on our ranch for yellow jacket predation. The skunk finds the jacket nest before we do 🐝
Omgosh they are so cute! My neighbor in az. Had 2 rescue skunks ... but they were skunk skunks not spotted.... I was a fawn colored. I'm so surprised these aren't the ones people have made pers out of
We regularly have striped skunks visit our yard to look for bugs under our doug firs. Yeah they're stinky, and we're trying to figure out how to keep them from nesting in the crawl space, but after they dug up and ate a problematic yellow jacket nest, I'll put up with the smell over stings any day.
I only ever saw striped skunks in Los Alamos during my childhood. I would love to see a spotted one in the wild. Here in my yard in Western Washington I have seen what appears to be the dig pattern of a skunk, but have never seen either kind.
@@OublietteTight I have 20 acres in the US midwest with a pond. Old family land. The skunks come and go. I don't see generations of them like I do with the groundhogs. But we have a bunch of country dogs bumming around that seem to enjoy skunk, so the skunks usually don't last long.
I appreciate the video. However, I missed the answer to the question you raised unless your position is that we need more skunks so that we have more skunks to study. What did I miss?
Why do we need more skunks? I just heard a lot of "we don't know" in this video. Obviously we need all of nature, except parasites. Parasites flourish when things are out of balance. But please explain why we need the spotted skunk. Thanks.
Lived in richland Washington during the 1980s. Batemans island in the Columbia River was overrun literally by striped skunks. It was almost impossible to walk any distance on the island without seeing one. At the same time, the sagebrush flats at the edge of town had plenty as well. However, despite spending alot of time hiking, backpacking and camping in the cascades I never encountered a single skunk of any kind. Thank you so much for this report and for all this incredible conservation work.
I used to work in Fairview Oregon and one of the neighbors there regularly fed the wildlife 😖. That was the first time I saw a live skunk. I was pulling out of work in my car and I thought it was a cat at first. It was in front of my car and it wasn't until it stood up on its front legs to spray the car did I realize what was near the front of my car. I honked the horn repeatedly and it ran away. It was dark out when this happened and I had been waiting for the "cat" to move out of the way before I drove home.
Skunks are actually pretty cool animals. Legend has it you can follow them around all night from a distance and they would never know you were there...
Due to their defenses, they are a lot braver than most animals. TBF if you go to rural places like Alaska, where animals rarely see people. You could follow a lot of animals around at a distance without issue. They have a lot more curiosity inside them, than fear overwhelming them to flee.
When I was a kid. Our dog chased a skunk under our house. It stunk so bad we had to vacate for almost a week. I can't imagine being sprayed 50 times. Go Science and Scientists.
Understanding the lifecycle of as many animals as possible, is crucial. But the idea that we still need it, to argue for habitat protection. Is crazy, with what we do know.
We have a striped one in the backyard and only see him 3 or 4 am. It’s been fun watching him (not 100% certain) grow this year as it’s matched the Siberian kitten I have. Kitten could go as a skunk with a little black fur dye 🤪😻🤭
Not sure if it was a spotted skunk but I saw them often at an apartment I lived at in la Mesa ca. I smell their presence at my house but I think my dog keeps them away.
Only stripped here too. And my lab mix bum rushed them. Like the instant he saw them he was in full out puppy play mode. He thought they were cats, which he loved. He also did not even choke when sprayed right down the throat. I know he did not mind because it was not a one time thing. I miss him.
We really need a moratorium on development or clearing of any area that doesn’t already have a building on it. And some places need to be allowed to be reclaimed by nature.
Especially the waterways of all kinds! Let us set free the arteries, veins, and capillaries of our living planet Earth… and we will find ourselves much more in harmony with life.
I wonder about spotted skunks need for old growth forests and I have found three carcasses that were unquestionably spotted skunks in the Mojave Desert - two were at the Vulcan Mine in the East Mojave Nalt. Park and one was on Sheepshead Mountain near the border of Death Valley on the eastern side. I also wonder if a dog encounter (foolish pup got sprayed) with a skunk here on the western edge of the Sacramento Valley was a spotted skunk as it smelled different to me than our usual striped skunks. This record is unconfirmed as I didn't actually see the animal. Any thoughts on this? I would love to see more old growth forest preserved but maybe our western spotted skunk is more wide ranging in its habitat choices? Would love to hear more on this subject! Yay skunks! I'm all in favor of more skunks - I love these guys.
The apple watch is small, much like the collars you are using, and they have GPS tracking. Also with all of the other features include. You can get heart rate and the other info through their use.
Living in the Northwest and being an avid mushroom hunter I have often come across skunks. I have never been sprayed even though I have come within a couple of feet of them. If you don't display hostile behavior they will just turn and go on their way.
I’ve never seen a spotted skunk, just the regular old striped ones. I’ve probably dealt with dogs getting skunked 25 to 30 times over the years. 50 years ago the home remedy was tomato juice which didn’t work worth a darn. Then preparation’s started showing up in the pet stores and those didn’t work worth a darn either. Nowadays the formula of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a dab of dawn liquid dish soap works better but still leaves a lot to be desired. The new product called pooph Is a scam. You might as well spray a dog down with water. Something I learned from an outfit called animals in distress is there a skunk has to be able to raise its tail to an almost vertical position in order to spray. If you catch one in a live trap that doesn’t have enough room for them to raise their tail, you won’t get sprayed. Animals in distress have picked a few up from my property transferring them to a small cat carrier to relocate them is dicey but it is possible.
Do other animals just hate the skunk smell, or hate having it on them (because it makes them detectable when hunting)? It doesn't smell like something rotten, diseased, or whatever--it just identifies something that attacked a skunk.
Skunks are so adorable and beautiful. I hope more people learn about them.
And wild ones can be quite social, though I don't recommend interacting with them.
I tip my hat to Marie, it's wonderful the work she does. I hope her work sheds light on the need to preserve and study our existing, dwindling resources.
That would include birth control for humans only.
dwindling resources? Go to Google Earth and take a bird's eye view of North America, then tell me how much of what you see is uninhabitable by animals?
Getting sprayed 50-100 times for.....science. That's hardcore dedication to the craft!
After 100 times, you don't smell it anymore.
@@zyxw2000 Have you tested this? :)
Once you figure out how / why you are sprayed, figuring out how not to get sprayed is almost a done deal. ☆
@@fjb4932 Not when she has to trap them constantly. It's her job.
Luckily she's in the pacific Northwest, so if she gets any comments about the smell she can just play it off as weed.
This is great. Skunks are such an awesome & underappreciated critter. It's good to have them around, filling their unique role in their ecosystem
They're actually very affectionate, like little cats.
Yea dude, skunks & opossum are sick. They are super under appreciated
@@Refr619 They're not sick.
I haven't seen a single skunk in 31 years of living in western Washington. But they were relatively common in my childhood in NE Texas/Oklahoma. If they get into your hen house it is bad news, but in general they just go about their business. Of course being mammals and carnivores they can carry and die from rabies.
@@lilolmecj They eat mostly grubs where I live. You can see scratched up areas in people's lawns. But we don't have the spotted ones in NY.
We have skunks that live in our backyard. They tried making a home under our shed a few years back. I can always smell them when they walk near our house but rarely do we see them. They are adorable and I love that they are here.
I'm in Minnetonka Minnesota haven't seen a striped skunk ever but have smelled them occasionally when they interact with cars.
Are you rural or suburban ?
I'd love to have them instead of the scourge rabbits that eat all my perennials and elude capture
There are striped skunks around where I hang out, southern Ontario (Toronto) and a bit north, (Barrie and Orillia)
They are so damn oblivious, at least the ones a bit north are skittish, if I see one in the distance I can shine my flashlight at them and stamp on the ground and they will move on and I can walk by
The ones in Toronto just don't give AF, they just do their thing, if there's one on the sidewalk ahead of me digging in the curb strip I can't scare it off at all, I have to cross the street to the other side to be able to get by without getting in spray range
But like I said is they are oblivious, if you don't see them first, they will never see you first, and you might walk right up to one, when I'm walking around at 4am i tend to walk down the middle of the road so I can see ahead good and don't surprise a skunk
Back east, Pennsylvania, an aunt allowed a skunk to nest under the back porch. No one ever knew she was there until some bad kids got drunk and decided to roust the half-breeds (we're metis). this was about the 3rd time that summer they threw rocks at the farmhouse, mocking them, an elderly couple, when the mother skunk heard my aunt scream. The skunk and babies came out armed for war. It took a few weeks for the stench to fade but those kids never did come back. One thing about skunks is, clearcutting old-growth forests made their population boom. Old-growth is a deadlands where little can survive in the high CO2, dark environment. Brush ground is vital, alive, and filled with things that demand all the CO2 they can get. And skunks, of course :)
Lovely that the skunks helped your family out!
Old growth is an eden for biodiversity and houses species from salamanders to deer where the old trees create a nursery for growing newer plants. It's quite the opposite of a dead zone.
original comment about old growth being a dead zone is super inaccurate and laughable!
Does the skunk make friendly contact with her?
@@MegInWhispersits context is the northeast where old growth is not very old. Our woodlands are very sick and nothing like true old growth shown here except in a couple lucky pockets. I believe there is something to what they said, but the answer is well managed native grassland dispersed among a mosaic woodland, wetland, and prairie environment, as it once was in our hills. The northeast is very different to the north west. We’ve got a ton of acres of high graded woods that is as OP described. Not good wildlife habitat. A lot of times it grows to near monoculture red maple with invasive understory after clear cuts, and we have a lot of old abandoned introduced red pine plantations that are extremely dense. I don’t think the old growth woods should get cut but I don’t think op does either.
I've seen them a couple of times in the foothills west of Los Angeles. One time we had a mother and two young spotted skunks in out backyard. The young skunks were playing like puppies or kittens, but then would back away and run at each other with their backs in the air. They were over the top cute.
I remember when we had baby skunks in our yard. I loved watching them trying to dig for grubs in the ground. Sometimes they're back-end would come up because of the force they were putting into the front end 😂
My favorite time of year is when the kits first leave their dens. They are super curious and fearless. I love playing with them. Use your hand to simulate their stomps and they will return it. They might wrestle with your hand so wear gloves if you are concerned about rabies. I’m vaccinated.
I adore skunks. I had a baby skunk for awhile as a pet when i was young. It was so cute but they are very curious and require a LOT of supervision. They aren't like cats or dogs. They will get into everything and make a huge mess. So don't get one based on the cuteness factor like we did. I was working all the time and going to school and it just didn't work out. I still miss that cute little critter. But she was a handful 😂 I was in HS and when I was at work, the skunk would be on my mom's foot trying to bat at the fuzzy ball on the back of her sock. It would ride on her foot. 😂 and when I would take it for a walk, it would follow me, not lead. The dog was afraid of it even though the dog was larger.
It was too cute though 😊
It is my belief that every creature on this earth has a purpose, from the smallest to the largest. I love the work you're doing and hope the Western Spotted Skunk can survive and thrive.
Not crocks !
Ticks, mosquitoes/ no-see-ums . . .
Yes, EVERY SINGLE LIVING BEING has their part to play in the web of life!
No species has a purpose because that would imply that there is a plan and someone or something consciously planning. Every species is trying to find a niche where they can survive, thrive, and reproduce. Those that don't die off
@ Purpose does not necessarily imply someone in control. Purpose can mean how the different living things work together and thereby create a harmony and health that otherwise would not be.
Given that they eat much of the low tiers that would be considered pests for human habitats I think it's a good thing to have them around.
They are beautiful. I hope they won’t be wiped away. This woman and her cohort are heroes!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🤗🤗🤗💋💐
Skunks are SO STINKING CUTE
As a boy I lived in the city and would only smell skunk on vacations to the country and so to this day, after 55 years of rural living, I still feel like I'm on vacation whenever I smell it.
❤❤❤❤❤
🩷
I'm not sure if it was the Western Spotted, but I was up by Monmouth near a lumber yard waiting to deliver. I decided to go for a walk around, thought I spotted a pond nearby. Rounding the corner of the trail, there he was, coming the opposite direction. We both stopped, both surprised. He did a little front feet hop- stomp that told me "Alright, that's close enough". I calmly apologized to the skunk for the intrusion and carefully backed away, keeping my eyes on him. After about five steps back the skunk turned into the brush and was gone.
Did it have two stripes down its back or spots? Was it average domestic cat size or half that?
@louisegogel7973 Spots, smaller house cat size.
@@scotttaxdal5297 Sure sounds like a spotted skunk to me. Are there differences in spotted skunks by region, or are they all spotted skunks?
As far as skunks go these are the cutest hands down.
Striped skunks make a good fur hat, similar to a coonskin hat. One pelt on each side and one down the middle, with the tail.
Thank you for the stink you endured so many times to help the critters 😊
That was a long, continuous stretch of hard work there, Marie. An impressive effort!.
And you uncovered some unique info on some unique critters. Sounds like foundational work that will be cited for years to come.
Well done.
In the mountainous part of western NC we are aware that Striped Skunks are around. We are also prone to seeing yellowjackets creating subterranean nests, usually just below the surface, or of course, on structures such as the underside of decks. One summer I sprayed one such attached nest; within a month another started close by. On the day I planned to carefully spray that one, also, we awoke to find it torn down, with remnants scattered under the deck. We assumed it might have been a skunk. The next year, an underground nest was spotted up a hillside near our deck; shortly thereafter we got up one morning to see that area dug up and disturbed, parts of the nest scattered. But there was a second entrance (or a second nest) very near the first as yellowjackets were still seen coming and going. That same evening, as dusk fell, a skunk emerged from the woods and went back to the recently disturbed area. It dug vigorously, seemingly impervious to any bees, and tore out the rest of the jacket nest. We never saw any further activity. To us, this was confirmation that the local skunks have a taste for yellowjacket larvae and are apparently not deterred by live bees. Pretty cool.
The skunks around here have adapted very well to the suburbs. I realize they are not the same species as these western spotted skunks, but they are still skunks. I’m in the western suburbs of Chicago. They thrive around here. I was only spraying once walking in a tallgrass prairie at night when I couldn’t see it and I literally stepped on it. It was not hurt.
And you had to have a bath in tomato juice?
Not only are they cute, but they are very friendly. I live on the edge of Olympic NP and I've had spotted skunks around here that followed me around (curious) and were totally unafraid of me. One got shut into my garage one night. The next morning, I discovered it sleeping on my table saw. When I opened the garage door, it got languidly up, stretched like a cat/dog, and casually ambled out. Here's the interesting part: later that day I found it dead by my back door and told my wife. She put on latex gloves and examined it to see why it died. She couldn't find any marks of violence on it and concluded it must have died of disease, so I went out with a shovel to bury it when it got up and wandered off, perfectly healthy! The little scamp was playing dead, which I didn't know that they did.
Western spotted skunks are not reliant on old-growth timber habitats. They're also found in the sagebrush and bunchgrass steppes of central and eastern Oregon. I've live-trapped them around Hankock field station in the Clarno Basin; east of Madras at Rimrock Springs and seen them in far north-eastern Oregon. They may thrive better in OG forest habitat, but are certainly not limited to it.
BTW: Thanks for the views of the Andrews! I did field work there in the late '80s and fondly remember it. I hope the "biggest Christmas tree" is still there--an open-grown Noble fir of incredible size.
Hey OSU! I went to OSU for a year when I was 16. Also spent most of my life rescuing the odd skunk, western spotteds and nowadays hognoses and stripeds.
Aick im an Oregon grad with a lot of family osu! If I had it to do again I would have gone to osu! I luv the cat vet school! Am on the osu donation list!
@@oldfogey4679 I honestly wish I'd stayed there and pursued an Ag or Zoology degree but I got airs and tried Math in New Mexico. Still root for the Beavers though!
I have understood the value of having skunks nearby for decades and they are amusing on top of that.
gonna guess why we need skunks. they dig up yellow jacket nests, spread mushroom spores around forest floor, eat termites and carpenter ants. old bee keeper told me they can make a fist, then knock on bee box and eat honey bee guard bees as they check who’s at door. like us humans we try to fit into web of life without doing massive carnage
I recently had a few visits by a Western Spotted Skunk at my home on the outskirts of Tucson, AZ. I was thrilled to see it on my wildlife camera. These guys can manage in wildly different habitats! I love this research for these often underappreciated animals.
Last night we had a skunk 🦨 on our porch! Eastern PA. They’re so adorable! Thank goodness they get along with the feral cat colony we have
Thank you for your intensive persistent research.
May all living beings on this planet live in harmony with each other, benefiting each other and thriving together.
Christmas tree growers love skunks! The skunks really have a taste for yellow jacket wasps, digging out the underground nests and making it safe for workers at harvest time.
I live in SE Portland, near the Woodstock area. I smell skunks quite a bit, woke up last night and there was a lovely faint odor of skunk.. in small amounts on the breeze I actually like the fragrance of skunks. Plus they are so dang cute.. I mean Come on! Little stinky hyper balls of adorableness.
How much old growth forest is left? Thank you for this interesting and informative article. I love skunks. Many years ago I had a friend who had a pet skunk. It had not had it's scent glands removed, but only ever sprayed when it encountered aggressive dogs. It was allowed to roam freely (in the suburbs), but seemed to stay within about a mile of it's "home." At night it always came home and slept on my friend's bed with him. It was absolutely adorable. It seemed to enjoy interacting with humans, even often showing up when my friend would have a party. When meeting someone new, it approached cautiously, getting close enough to touch. If the person showed fear, it would back off and stay well away from that person, but if you reached out to it, it would wait for you to pet it. Once you had petted it, it would become very playful and affectionate. One of it's favorite things was to grab someone's shoelace and pull it to untie it. Then it would watch closely as if trying to understand the process of retying the lace. Everyone who got over their fear of being sprayed enjoyed "socializing" with that skunk. I don't know how typical his behavior was, but he was adorable. He was raised by my friend who found him as a tiny little baby, near death and apparently either orphaned or abandoned. My friend was a little different, and seemed to be able to connect with animals more easily than with humans. Knowing him gave me a much greater appreciation of our non-human relatives, but of all the critters he cared for over the years, the skunk was my favorite. Thanks again for this article. It brought back many fond memories.
This woman works hard for science! Imagine hiking all over creation to track an animal that is very likely to spray you when you get to it.
Thanks for introducing the Western Spotted Skunk. ❤
I love all animals in a balance! I dont know about the spotted but stripe skunks are so cool. I have many times been up to them with them being like hi im busy. One time even one even walked between my legs like I wasnt even there. Just foraging around. I stood still and watch. no smell or spray. Not alarmed or nothing. Very cool even though like probably 30 years ago that is proof I will never forget that few minutes I had. :D
It would be sad if these little guys go the same way as their eastern cousins. Thank you Dr Tosa for doing such an important role in the preservation of our forests.
I've seen these several times at Sikes Hot Springs in Big Sur CA. they are quick, kinda night squirrel if that makes sense! LOL! they were living under the logs that got set up around the fire ring, so they woke me up trying to get into my backpack in the middle of the night. Cute but stinky!! lol
I live in the desert about 80 miles north of Las Vegas on I 15. Last summer, I stepped out of the condo and was surprised to see one inside the walls of the complex. Was also surprised at how tiny they are. He appeared several times for about a week and then disappeared. My daughter got some footage of it when she was coming home from work one night.
I love them! Such a unique fur pattern.
Despite the drawbacks we maintain a limited population of striped skunks on our ranch for yellow jacket predation. The skunk finds the jacket nest before we do 🐝
So cute! I love critters like skunks, opossums, raccoons, bats and ground hogs. Animals that many people consider to be pests.
Omgosh they are so cute! My neighbor in az. Had 2 rescue skunks ... but they were skunk skunks not spotted.... I was a fawn colored.
I'm so surprised these aren't the ones people have made pers out of
We regularly have striped skunks visit our yard to look for bugs under our doug firs. Yeah they're stinky, and we're trying to figure out how to keep them from nesting in the crawl space, but after they dug up and ate a problematic yellow jacket nest, I'll put up with the smell over stings any day.
I only ever saw striped skunks in Los Alamos during my childhood. I would love to see a spotted one in the wild. Here in my yard in Western Washington I have seen what appears to be the dig pattern of a skunk, but have never seen either kind.
Great work!
So adorable! ❤❤
Such an awesome project wow
In my southern Colorado forest at 7700 feet in elevation I have a Western spotted skunk that actually hangs with a fox.
They're nocturnal, so I almost never see them, but boy howdy, I sure can smell them. I love them so much.
Great job on covering this topic!
Skunks are one of those animals that I see on my property but I'm not real sure what they do. Seems to be a low maintenance squatter.
So they live there? Is it one of their paths? Or are they eating nearby?
@@OublietteTight I have 20 acres in the US midwest with a pond. Old family land. The skunks come and go. I don't see generations of them like I do with the groundhogs. But we have a bunch of country dogs bumming around that seem to enjoy skunk, so the skunks usually don't last long.
I would call it a helper, not squatter, lol
That was interesting, more please.
I appreciate the video. However, I missed the answer to the question you raised unless your position is that we need more skunks so that we have more skunks to study. What did I miss?
So she got sprayed about once a week? Talk about dedication!
I grew up at trailbridge reservoir pretty much the head waters of the Mckenzie river and we had a ton of these lil guys running around
Have you ever spotted a skunk in the wild? Share your story below!
stealing food put out for the cat😂
Why do we need more skunks? I just heard a lot of "we don't know" in this video. Obviously we need all of nature, except parasites. Parasites flourish when things are out of balance. But please explain why we need the spotted skunk. Thanks.
@@ezradaiquiri11311agreed. Good video, but please answer why?
Lived in richland Washington during the 1980s. Batemans island in the Columbia River was overrun literally by striped skunks. It was almost impossible to walk any distance on the island without seeing one. At the same time, the sagebrush flats at the edge of town had plenty as well. However, despite spending alot of time hiking, backpacking and camping in the cascades I never encountered a single skunk of any kind. Thank you so much for this report and for all this incredible conservation work.
I used to work in Fairview Oregon and one of the neighbors there regularly fed the wildlife 😖. That was the first time I saw a live skunk. I was pulling out of work in my car and I thought it was a cat at first. It was in front of my car and it wasn't until it stood up on its front legs to spray the car did I realize what was near the front of my car. I honked the horn repeatedly and it ran away. It was dark out when this happened and I had been waiting for the "cat" to move out of the way before I drove home.
Omg he’s so cute. ❤
Skunks are actually pretty cool animals. Legend has it you can follow them around all night from a distance and they would never know you were there...
Due to their defenses, they are a lot braver than most animals.
TBF if you go to rural places like Alaska, where animals rarely see people. You could follow a lot of animals around at a distance without issue. They have a lot more curiosity inside them, than fear overwhelming them to flee.
I had a striped skunk remove a large hornet nest on my place that I didn't like there. Then it crossed the highway and was killed 😢
When I was a kid. Our dog chased a skunk under our house. It stunk so bad we had to vacate for almost a week. I can't imagine being sprayed 50 times. Go Science and Scientists.
Understanding the lifecycle of as many animals as possible, is crucial.
But the idea that we still need it, to argue for habitat protection. Is crazy, with what we do know.
They're so cute 🥺
We have a striped one in the backyard and only see him 3 or 4 am. It’s been fun watching him (not 100% certain) grow this year as it’s matched the Siberian kitten I have. Kitten could go as a skunk with a little black fur dye 🤪😻🤭
Good work!
Thank you for using British units like inches. The US will always be a colony 🌈
My skunks devour all the yellow jackets in the local area. 😊
I love skunks they are so cute, especially when they run. I love the smell. (I smoke weed)
I will send you all the skunks you want from Texas.
this is exactly what a skunk would say
What fancy designs on that one skunk, Western type. Sweet.
Spotted skunks are the cutest skunks, and so mobile compared to their striped cousins.
Give her an A+
I had an Ethiopian friend I worked with who asked me about skunks. He was amazed by them.
Not sure if it was a spotted skunk but I saw them often at an apartment I lived at in la Mesa ca. I smell their presence at my house but I think my dog keeps them away.
One of mine runs straight toward the smell. I’ve only ever encountered ordinary striped skunks.
Only stripped here too. And my lab mix bum rushed them. Like the instant he saw them he was in full out puppy play mode. He thought they were cats, which he loved. He also did not even choke when sprayed right down the throat.
I know he did not mind because it was not a one time thing. I miss him.
p.s. Our alleyway was a skunk highway.
Love skunks I’ve had many as friends over the years who live around the feral cat colony I work with. They even eat with the cats sometimes!
It's so unnerving to see the DuPont label on anything involving conservation or biosciences.
We really need a moratorium on development or clearing of any area that doesn’t already have a building on it. And some places need to be allowed to be reclaimed by nature.
Especially the waterways of all kinds! Let us set free the arteries, veins, and capillaries of our living planet Earth… and we will find ourselves much more in harmony with life.
I have pictures and videos of a Western Spotted Skunk that was hanging out under my house and in the front yard. I live in Hornbrook California.
I haven’t seen or smelled a skunk in a few years, they used to get into the garbage bin and tear it up.
Skunks are awesome!!
I love skunks, they are so cute regardless
I’ve seen a spotted skunk in the costal Southern California area near Camp Pendleton.
I wonder about spotted skunks need for old growth forests and I have found three carcasses that were unquestionably spotted skunks in the Mojave Desert - two were at the Vulcan Mine in the East Mojave Nalt. Park and one was on Sheepshead Mountain near the border of Death Valley on the eastern side. I also wonder if a dog encounter (foolish pup got sprayed) with a skunk here on the western edge of the Sacramento Valley was a spotted skunk as it smelled different to me than our usual striped skunks. This record is unconfirmed as I didn't actually see the animal. Any thoughts on this? I would love to see more old growth forest preserved but maybe our western spotted skunk is more wide ranging in its habitat choices? Would love to hear more on this subject! Yay skunks! I'm all in favor of more skunks - I love these guys.
Random question. After a fire, what are the survival rates in old verses new growth? Not just for skunks, but wildlife in general?
I love the skunk smell and the taste of asprin.
do they eat mushrooms from old growth forest or eat insects from mushrooms from old growth forests? I have seen skunks nibbling mushrooms.
The apple watch is small, much like the collars you are using, and they have GPS tracking. Also with all of the other features include. You can get heart rate and the other info through their use.
Love skunks!
Living in the Northwest and being an avid mushroom hunter I have often come across skunks. I have never been sprayed even though I have come within a couple of feet of them. If you don't display hostile behavior they will just turn and go on their way.
They are amazing!!!! At camp we had a skunk family. They were awesome! Unless you surprised them….😂
Wonder if their scent is too strong to use a strong smelling collar and a tracking animal to track them.
Got spayed twice, in jordan valley oregon, while trying to get one out of my chicken coop. We called them civit cats
Are there any scholarship for international student?
I’ve never seen a spotted skunk, just the regular old striped ones. I’ve probably dealt with dogs getting skunked 25 to 30 times over the years. 50 years ago the home remedy was tomato juice which didn’t work worth a darn. Then preparation’s started showing up in the pet stores and those didn’t work worth a darn either. Nowadays the formula of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a dab of dawn liquid dish soap works better but still leaves a lot to be desired. The new product called pooph Is a scam. You might as well spray a dog down with water. Something I learned from an outfit called animals in distress is there a skunk has to be able to raise its tail to an almost vertical position in order to spray. If you catch one in a live trap that doesn’t have enough room for them to raise their tail, you won’t get sprayed. Animals in distress have picked a few up from my property transferring them to a small cat carrier to relocate them is dicey but it is possible.
Lots of them around Fern Ridge. Unfortunately many get hit by cars.
Those striped ones are pretty. I have one on my property that is almost entirely white.
Skunks are sweethearts but there is a caveat.
I grew up in S.E. Pennsylvania,my father would hand feed a female who would bring the litter after she was comfortable. She never sprayed him
I was today years old when I found out these guys existed
I saw a skunk on top of Mt Graham eat a bird. I was a little shocked.
“Tulsa estimated her and her team covered…” Yikes,PBS, I expect better of you. “She and her team covered…”
Did you explain why we need more skunks if so I'm confused
Do other animals just hate the skunk smell, or hate having it on them (because it makes them detectable when hunting)? It doesn't smell like something rotten, diseased, or whatever--it just identifies something that attacked a skunk.