Regional records for the eastern spotted skunk suggest that this species extended its range northward into Minnesota in the early 1900s. They are more social than other skunks. Skunk - Skunk - Natural history: Hog-nosed skunks are capable diggers and have powerfully built upper bodies, which allow them to climb in rough terrain. After a gestation period of 50 - 65 days a litter of young are born. October 15 ... and Eastern spotted skunks are the smallest of the nine species of skunks in North America. I’ve lived in the northern and central parts of the state, and I’ve never seen one. The Eastern spotted skunks is a small, relatively slender skunk with a body shape like a weasel. Eastern Spotted Skunk, Spilogale putorius Of the two skunks occurring in Tennessee, the Eastern Spotted Skunk is slightly smaller and less common. To employ this scent bomb, a skunk turns around and blasts its foe with a foul mist that can travel as far as ten feet. The long, glossy, black fur has white stripes along the neck, back, and sides to mid-body. Description: A medium-sized, stout-bodied mammal with a small head, short legs, and a prominent, bushy tail. Gompper and Hackett (2005) assessed harvest records of eastern spotted skunks and found that they had declined in the 1980s to less than one percent of … When threatened, a foul-smelling oily secretion from the skunk's anal glands can be projected up to 4 m and is usually directed at the face of the threatening animal. Spotted skunks are much more alert and active than most skunks. Skunks and Their Natural History. Eastern Spotted Skunks are mostly nocturnal. Supposedly native to West Virginia. Research: WVDNR and Frostburg State University are studying eastern spotted skunk spatial ecology and natural history in the eastern panhandle. But they are in Idaho. Posts about spotted skunk written by SWestfall3. Eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) populations are believed to have declined throughout much of their range in the eastern United States since the 1940s. The eastern spotted skunk has experienced a range-wide decline since at least the 1940s (Gompper and Hackett 2005). It is a skunk. We used a game camera to observe a female Eastern Spotted Skunk in the southern Appalachians of Alabama carrying 6 different prey items to her den from February to August 2015. My guess is it was probably a striped skunk. Hypothesized declines have been attributed to habitat loss or change, increased competition with sympatric carnivore species, or …