ECONOMIC VALUE OP NORTH AMERICAN SKUNKS. 



1 



them to the action of sun and wind; another is to bury the garment 

 for several days in moist soil; still another, to immerse it for a time 

 in flowing water. 



BREEDING HABITS. 



Skunks breed usually but once a year. The larger skunks mate 

 early in spring (February and March) and the young, numbering 

 from 6 to 12 in a litter, are born in May. They are blind and nearly 

 hairless at birth and do not open their eyes until about three or four 

 weeks old. Soon after this they begin to follow the mother about 

 and continue with her until almost fully grown. They are mature 

 when about six months old and breed the following spring. 



The breeding habits of little spotted skunks differ but little from 

 those of the larger animals. They mate a little later in the spring 

 and the litters seldom exceed six in number. On July 10, 1905, at 

 Apache, Okla., the writer found a litter of six young with eyes not 

 yet open. They were well covered with soft hairs and had the char- 

 acteristic markings of adult animals. 



FOOD OF SKUNKS. 



The belief that skunks feed mainly upon birds and birds' eggs is so 

 general that statements to the contrary are often challenged. While 

 the animals occasionally eat wild birds and poultry, the evidence 

 furnished by stomach examinations is overwhelmingly favorable to 

 skunks, and proves that on the whole they are beneficial. Scien- 

 tific observers since the days of Audubon have nearly all testified to 

 the usefulness of these animals, but popular prejudices are hard to 

 overcome. 



The Biological Survey has records of the contents of 62 skunk 

 stomachs examined by its field men. Of these stomachs, 37 were of 

 common skunks, 9 of white-backed skunks, and 16 of little spotted 

 skunks. As the food of these differs but slightly, they may be 

 treated together. 



Grasshoppers and crickets formed a large percentage of the food 

 of nearly half the skunks examined. Beetles and their larvae formed 

 the most important item of food, being found in nearly two-thirds of 

 the stomachs and in many instances being the sole diet. Fifteen 

 animals had eaten injurious rodents, such as mice, rats, ground 

 squirrels, and pocket gophers, while 3 had eaten carrion; 3 had 

 taken lizards or salamanders; 3, crawfish; 2, fungi; 2, earthworms; 

 and 6, berries or other fruit. In one stomach the feathers of a bird 

 were found, and in another, that of an animal trapped in a henhouse, 

 parts of a domestic fowl. Two stomachs contained centipedes; 1, 

 sawflies; 1, cicadas only, and another the pulpy stems of a succulent 

 plant. 



