![]() Older skunks seem less friendly to the young kits. After a little posturing they start to rub against each other, often rolling around in what appears to be an embrace. Opossums, raccoons, skunks and chipmunks enter a sort of mini-hibernation called torpor, in which they conserve energy for a short period, then wake to find food when temperatures rise and weather improves, according to Kevin. When the young skunks meet again, they raise their tails vertically. Raccoons leave their dens for food during winter. By late July or early August the young disperse. A common scene in late spring and summer is a mother skunk followed by a line of her kits. The male plays no part in raising the young and may even kill them. Females excavate a den ready for between one and four young to be born in May. Female skunks are induced ovulators, the male skunk mounts the female from behind and proceeds to bite the female on the back of the neck and back, which induces the female’s ovulation. They are short-lived animals: fewer than 10% survive for longer than three years.īreeding usually takes place in early Spring. Roughly half of all skunk deaths are caused by humans, as roadkill, or as a result of shooting and poisoning. Skunks do not fully hibernate in winter, at times during winter when a skunk wakes from its torpor usually, when temperatures are 30° Fahrenheit or above. They are also able to sleep for up to a month in a period of long inactivity known as a ‘torpor. But they do somewhat ‘hibernate.’ They actually build dens, in which they are able to sleep during long stretches of time during the coldest days. Nature Bear Essentials of Hibernation Certain mammals have what many people might consider the good fortune to be able to sleep through the winterto hibernate. They cannot see objects more than about 3 meters away with any clarity, which makes them very vulnerable to road traffic. Raccoons don’t hibernate in the typical sense of the definition that you may be familiar with. The same winter den is often repeatedly used.Īlthough they have excellent senses of smell and hearing – vital attributes in a nocturnal carnivore – they have poor vision. They often overwinter in a huddle of one male and multiple (as many as twelve) females. However, they do remain generally inactive and feed rarely. Unlike the fictional “Flower” in the movie Bambi, real skunks don’t hibernate in the winter. Both sexes occupy overlapping home ranges through the greater part of the year typically 2 to 4 km² for females, up to 20 km² for males. They do not hibernate but do become inactive during severe winter weather. During the day, they shelter in burrows that they dig with their powerful front claws, or in other man-made or natural hollows. What Do Raccoons Look Like Raccoons are mid-sized animals that are about 2-3. Skunks are nocturnal, and are solitary animals when not breeding, though they may gather together to keep warm in communal dens in the coldest part of their range.
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