MUSTEDID^^: 241 



below, a white spot on the forehead ; more or less white about 

 the corners of the mouth. 



Length about 400 mm. (15.75 inches); tail vertebrae 165 

 (6.50) ; hind foot 46 (1.80) ; ear from crown 15 (.60). 



Type locality, Nicasio, Marin County, California. 



Western Spotted Skunks are common in many of the val- 

 leys of central and southern California and in northern Lower 

 California. They do not ordinarily range as high in the moun- 

 tains as the larger Skunks do. The odor of the Spotted Skunk 

 is more pungent than that of the larger species, but it is not as 

 lasting. The only way that I know! of to kill this or atiy other 

 species of Skunk without its emitting its odor is by drowning. 

 By using a box trap and carrying it to water and slowly im'- 

 mersing it no scent will be emitted. If a steel trap is used fasten 

 it to the end of a long pole and the animal can be slowly dragged 

 to the water and drowned. As long as the animal faces one 

 there is no- danger; but if it turns about stop and keep quiet un- 

 til it faces about again. A Skunk will bear some pulling about 

 if carefully handled ; they do not waste Lheir means of defense un- 

 necessarily. Sometimes a Spotted Skunk will eat a bit of fresh 

 meat while still in the trap, then a little strychnine will make 

 them quiet ; the meat can be reached to the animal on the end of 

 a pole if one moves slowly and carefully. 



The gait O'f Spotted Skunks is commonly a trot. The breed- 

 ing season is about April, judging from the size of young Skunks 

 seen in summer. They are very bold, and have so much confi- 

 dence in their means of offense and defense that they seldom run 

 from' anything. Their food is much like that of the larger 

 species — that is, mice, birds, eggs, poultry, insects and grubs. I 

 have found parts of a snake in one's stomach. Their small size 

 enables them to enter almost any hole that will admit a weasel or 

 mink. These little Skunks are often very destructive of poul- 

 try, but there is another reason for destroying them; it is a well 

 established fact that their bite does sometimes cause a form of 

 hydrophobia. Not every bite of a Skunk will induce this dis- 



