

SKUNK. 



Mephitis mephitiea. 



DESCRIPTION. 



A heavily-built animal, about the size of the house cat, al- 

 though its body is shorter and more bulky; weighs about 

 eight pounds; its legs are short, ears low, eyes brown, with' a 

 long bushy tail. Color black (some examples maroon and 

 white). The white markings vary greatly in extent and de- 

 tail; some examples of the genus have a small white head 

 spot only, but the common pattern has narrow white frontal 

 (head) stripe, a broad nuchal (neck) white patch, from which 

 diverge on either side of back, and extend to or near the two 

 stripes of white. The tail may be black, but oftener it is 

 marked with white especially terminally. 



Habitat. — This species, including its varieties or subspecies, 

 occurs generally throughout temperate North America. 



This familiar animal generally hides in some dark 

 reti'eat during- the daylight although o-ccasionally on 

 cloudy days he is seen abroad and he also hunts in the 

 twiliglit. The species technically known as mephitiea 

 and a form or subspecies called the Carolinian Skunk, 

 Mephitis mephitiea elongata as d( fined by Mr. Bangs, 

 with perhaps other subspecies, are in Pennsylvania, 

 where many thousands of these animals are annually 

 killed for the fur trade. Indeed, the long and heavy 

 cojtt of this mammal is so valuable in the fur markets 

 that Skunk farms are conducted on an extensive and 

 profitable basis in New York, Ohio and other states. 

 The Skunk, in diffe)( nt shades of dresis, which, for the 

 l)urposes of this article, it is not necessary at this time 

 to dis(;uss, is one of the common mammals of our 

 State. 



SOME OF ITS COMMON NAME'S. 



Many persons know the animal by the name of Pole- 

 cat, a term ap]>lied to a small, brownish-black, ferret- 



