472 
Hills, contains many logged-over and un- 
cultivated areas devoted to grazing or 
orcharding which afford fair skunk range. 
Topographic and soil conditions in the 
Black Prairie Region are particularly un- 
favorable for ground dens. Of this region, 
probably less than 5 per cent, chiefly in 
the form of stream banks, satisfactorily 
meets the requirements of drainage and 
concealment for ground-denning mammals 
such as woodchucks and skunks. Heavy 
rains during the spring of 1939 and 1943 
may have resulted in some skunk mortal- 
ity, especially of young, through drowning. 
Throughout the Black Prairie, skunks den 
along ditch banks, tile drains, or under 
woodpiles or farm buildings. The various 
sand and other prairie regions of the state 
are rolling enough to afford good ground- 
denning sites. 
Trapping and Hunting.—lts slow 
movements and characteristic defense dis- 
qualify the skunk as a sporting species. 
Most of the skunks taken by hunters are 
captured incidentally to raccoon, opossum 
and mink hunting. About 20 per cent of 
the total catch is taken by hunters, and 
only about one out of five hunters is for- 
tunate—or unfortunate—enough to cap- 
ture them even incidentally. A very few 
hunters who specialize in skunks were en- 
countered during the survey, chiefly in the 
Western Prairie and the River Bluffs and 
Bottoms regions. Practically no skunk 
hunting is done in the Glacial Lakes or 
Black Prairie regions. 
‘Trappers, always strongly influenced by 
prices, were comparatively indifferent to- 
ward skunks. A large part of the catch 
was taken in connection with raccoon, fox 
and mink trapping. However, where 
skunks were numerous, and especially 
when a series of dens was located, trap- 
pers made deliberate efforts to take them. 
Serious skunk trapping is most common 
in the Northwest Hills, where the first 
weeks of the season are devoted to musk- 
rats and minks; after the formation of ice, 
traps are moved to the uplands for skunks 
and foxes. Even in this region, trappers 
whose regular business calls for meeting 
the public avoid skunks and quickly dis- 
pose of those taken in sets made for other 
animals. 
Management.—In view of the gen- 
eral though thin distribution of skunks in 
Illinois, the problems imposed by the 
ILLtINois NATURAL HisTory SURVEY BULLETIN 
Vol. 227A rie 
Fig. 20.—Skunk den in base of overmature 
white elm, Pere Marquette Wildlife 
Calhoun County. 
Area, 
cyclic-like behavior of the species and the 
ease with which the animals are taken in 
any sort of upland set, we have no specific 
recommendations for management. It ap- 
pears most practical to continue to list 
skunks with other fur animals and to sub- 
ject them to the same open season. The 
public, farmers and sportsmen especially, 
should realize that the skunk is one of 
the most valuable rodent and insect con- 
trols. We are opposed to large-scale con- 
trol of this species in the interest of game 
or poultry. We endorse land use leading 
toward the reforestation and protection of 
stream banks and other areas not suited 
to cultivation. Such a policy should. ulti- 
mately result in more wildlife habitats, 
from which skunks would benefit. 
Mink 
‘Two subspecies of minks occur in IIli- 
nois, the common mink and Mississippi 
valley mink (Necker & Hatfield 1941). 
The ranges of the two overlap, but the 
former has the more southerly distribu- 
tion. ‘he common mink is slightly smaller 
and darker than the other subspecies. 
Minks, like skunks, are generally dis- 
tributed over Illinois; the density of popu- 
lation appears to parallel muskrat num- 
bers and the amount of permanent water. 
For the season of 1938-39 the total calcu- 
lated catch was 53,723, worth $376,061 ; 
and in 1939-40, 45,254, worth $271,524, 
table 11. ‘The take of the second year 
shows a decline of about 16 per cent from 
that of the first. “The decline in value was 
somewhat more, since the average price 
