FUR FACTS 71 



crease, as he has come to realize that the skunk is not only a big 

 source of profit in its pelt, but is useful in destroying noxious insects, 

 and a fuller understanding of the economic value of skunk will no 

 doubt result in greater protective measures by the farmer in order 

 that the supply of skunk will increase from year to year. 



Any farmer boy can start a skunk farm, and as they are abundant 

 in nearly every state in the United States, it is not a diflBcult problem 

 to get a start if one really wants to begin. 



The skunk lives in dens, and they prefer to use natural cavities 

 in rocks or burrows dug by other animals such as fox, badger or the 

 woodchuck, but they will also often dig their own dens in ordinary 

 soil. They are said sometimes to attack and kill woodchucks before 

 taking their burrow. Fallen logs, recesses under stone walls or fences 

 and cavities under tree roots furnish the skunk convenient retreats. 

 If the floor of a building is near the ground, the space below is often 

 used by a family of skunks. Also they nest under well covers, 

 board walks, hay scales and stacks, as well as in culverts, covered 

 drains, abandoned cellars and caves for storing vegetables. In 

 winter the warmth of the floors of occupied dwellings or country 

 schoolhouses seems to be especially attractive to them; and the 

 animals often take up their abode in carelessly filled trenches con- 

 veying steam pipes from boilers to distant buildings, no doubt 

 attracted by the warmth. 



When skunks dig their own dens the burrows are seldom very 

 long or deep. They go down below the ordinary frost line, and after 

 they dig a short way, end in a rounded chamber where they make a 

 nest, a bed of leaves or dried grasses. Occasionally there are two 

 entrances to a den. 



In Northern latitudes skunks lie housed in their dens during the 

 coldest part of winter, but in mild weather they move about freely 

 in search of food. Usually a considerable number occupy the same 

 den, possibly members of a single family of a preceding summer, 

 but sometimes the number seems too great to be only one family. 

 As many as fifteen to twenty-five have been captured at one time 

 from a single den in the winter. When thus disturbed skunks are 

 found lively enough to prove that hibernation is not complete. As 

 spring approaches the animals mate, and the pairs betake themselves 

 to separate establishments. In the South this gregarious habit is 

 not so marked, although the young usually remain with the mother 

 until mating time in the late winter. 



