The striped skunk is recorded lightly but widely in Louisiana, 186 records spread across 41 parishes from Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge on the coast to Kisatchie National Forest and D’Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge in the uplands. It is an animal more often smelled, or found by its diggings, than seen.
Louisiana’s night-shift insect hunter
A striped skunk earns its living after dark, shuffling along field edges, woodland borders, and refuge roads while it roots out grubs, beetles, crickets, and any eggs or small rodents it comes across. The small, neat, cone-shaped holes it leaves in lawns and pastures are often the first sign one is working a neighborhood. The famous warning display, stamping feet, raised tail, and a turn that brings the scent glands to bear, is reason enough to admire one from a distance.
A mild winter keeps it moving
Striped skunks do not truly hibernate. In cold country they den up for weeks and share warmth, but Louisiana’s winters are mild enough that a skunk can forage through most of the year. Records reflect that, running in every month and standing out in April and again in November.
Status in Louisiana
NatureServe ranks the striped skunk S4, Apparently Secure, in Louisiana, and the species is native to the state. USGS NAS does not list it as nonindigenous here.
Full species profile
