These skunks are nocturnal, and are active all year. They are more agile and alert than the striped skunk, and they are good climbers. When frightened or angered, the eastern spotted skunk may engage in several unique behaviors that may serve as either a bluff or a warning prior to the discharge of scent. It may stomp or pat its front feet in rapid succession on the floor or ground. It can also do a "handstand" on its front feet. The skunk upends itself, holds its tail in the air, and may walk up to several yards in this manner.

Species Measurements:
- Adult Total Length: 450-600 mm (17-23 in.)
- Tail: 150-215 mm (6-8 in.)
- Hind Foot: 42-53 mm (1⅝-2⅛ in.)
- Weight: 0.5-1.4 kg (1-3 lb.)

Physical Characteristics:
The eastern spotted skunk is the smaller of the two skunks occurring in the park. It is black with a white spot on the forehead, one white spot under each ear, and four to six broken white stripes along the neck, back, and sides. The fur is long and silky. White spots or patches are present on the rump, and the bushy black tail usually has a broad, white tip. The front feet possess sharp, recurved claws that are twice as long as those on the hind feet.

Habitat:
Spotted skunks may inhabit forested and brushy areas as well as agricultural regions. They are often found in crevices in cliffs and in rock slides.

Reproduction:
Litters of two to six young are born in a nest of grass or hay within the den during May or June. Delayed implantation occurs and greatly prolongs gestation. The fertilized egg starts its development as it travels down the oviduct. Reaching the uterus in the blastocyst stage, it then becomes inactive, the metabolic rate falls, and cell division ceases. The unimplanted blastocyst remains quiescent for a period of ten to eleven months before implantation and normal development resumes. Newborn skunks have their eyes and ears closed and are covered with fine hair that shows the adult color pattern (Crabb, 1944). The eyes open between 30 and 32 days, and the first solid food is eaten at about 42 days of age. Weaning takes place at about eight weeks of age, and the young may reach their full growth in slightly more than three months. Breeding occurs at one year.

Longevity:
Life expectancy in the wild is unknown, although a captive skunk lived almost 10 years (Egoscue et. al., 1970).

Terrestrial Ecology:
These skunks are nocturnal, and are active all year. They are more agile and alert than the striped skunk, and they are good climbers. Dens may be in underground burrows, beneath farm buildings, in hollow logs, in rock crevices, or in lumber slab piles.

Unique behavior:
When frightened or angered, the eastern spotted skunk may engage in several unique behaviors that may serve as either a bluff or a warning prior to the discharge of the scent. It may stomp or pat its front feet in rapid succession on the floor or ground. It can also do a "handstand" on its front feet. The skunk upends itself, holds its tail in the air, and may walk up to several yards in this manner.

Feeding Habits:
The eastern spotted skunk is omnivorous. It feeds primarily on small mammals, fruits, insects, birds, lizards, snakes, and carrion. The stomach of a specimen found near park headquarters in November, 1950, contained the remains of a northern spring peeper (Hyla crucifer), a short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda), one katydid, one camel cricket, several clover leaves, and miscellaneous arthropod remains (Pfitzer, 1950).

Predators and Defense:
No records from the park.

Parasites:
Approximately two dozen acanthocephala, two tapeworms, and several nematodes were removed from a specimen taken near park headquarters by Pfitzer (1950).

The eastern spotted skunk ranges from northeastern Mexico, through the Great Plains to the Canadian border, and throughout the southeastern United States north to Pennsylvania.

The spotted skunk is the smaller and less common of the two skunks inhabiting the park, and has been recorded up to 2,900 feet elevation.

References:

Crabb, W.D. 1944. Growth, Development, and Seasonal Weights of Spotted Skunks. Journal of Mammalogy 25(3): 213-221.

Dragoo, J.W. and R.L. Honeycutt. 1997. Systematics of Mustelid-like Carnivores. Journal of Mammalogy 78(2): 426-443.

Egoscue, H.J., J.G. Bittmenn and J.A. Petrovich. 1970. Some Fecundity and Longevity Records for Captive Small Mammals. Journal of Mammalogy 51(3): 622-623.

Kinlaw, A. 1995. Spilogale putorius. Mammalian Species No. 511: 1-7. American Society of Mammalogists.

Linzey, D. W. 1995a. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The McDonald & Woodward Publishing Company, Inc., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Linzey, D. W. 1995b. Mammals of Great Smoky Mountains National Park-1995 Update. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 111(1): 1-81.

Pfitzer, D.W. 1950. Report on Mammals Collected or Observed, June-October, 1950. (Typewritten copy in files of Great Smoky Mountains National Park).