Plains Spotted Skunk

The plains spotted skunk, also called the prairie spotted skunk, Spilogale interrupta, is one of the spotted skunks, a genus of small black skunks in the family Mephitidae whose coats carry white stripes and blotches. Wikipedia has no separate article for it and treats it within the spotted skunk article, where its range is given as north-central to south-central United States, southern Manitoba in Canada and northeastern Mexico near the Gulf coast. Spotted skunks as a group are relatively small, males are much larger than females and have longer tails, and they prefer to den in burrows dug by gophers, wood rats, pocket gophers, striped skunks or armadillos. They are omnivorous, eating small rodents, fruit, berries, birds, eggs, insects, lizards, snakes and carrion, and they defend themselves by spraying a strong scent from two anal glands.