Skunks are common mammals recognized by their distinctive black and white markings. To survive the colder months, these adaptable creatures make specific behavioral and physiological adjustments.
Winter Denning Habits
As temperatures drop, skunks seek sheltered locations for their winter dens. They often utilize abandoned burrows dug by other animals, such as woodchucks or foxes, or find refuge under structures like porches, decks, or sheds. Skunks may also construct their own burrows, lining them with insulating materials like leaves and grass to help retain warmth.
Communal denning is a notable aspect of their winter behavior. Multiple female skunks, sometimes joined by a single male, gather in a shared den. This communal arrangement offers social thermoregulation, sharing body heat to conserve warmth. While males may den communally in winter, they typically remain solitary during other seasons. This collective living helps reduce the need for individual skunks to enter deeper states of torpor and can lead to higher fat reserves by spring.
Activity Levels and Torpor
Skunks do not undergo true hibernation, which involves a prolonged state of deep inactivity with significant drops in body temperature and metabolic rate. Instead, they enter a state of torpor, a lighter form of dormancy. During torpor, a skunk’s body temperature can decrease by approximately 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and its metabolism slows down. This physiological adaptation helps them conserve energy during periods of cold and food scarcity.
While in torpor, skunks remain capable of waking up and becoming active if necessary. They typically emerge from their dens during milder spells in winter, particularly when temperatures rise above freezing, to forage for food or relieve themselves. Males generally exhibit more activity than females during these winter months.
Winter Diet and Energy Reserves
Skunks are omnivores with an adaptable diet, important for winter when food sources become scarce. In the fall, skunks increase their food intake to build significant fat reserves, serving as their primary energy source during colder months. These fat layers are metabolized slowly while the skunk is in its dormant state.
As usual food sources like insects become less available, the winter diet shifts to more opportunistic items. Skunks forage for readily accessible foods such as roots, berries, nuts, seeds, and small rodents like mice and voles. They may also scavenge for carrion or human-provided sources like discarded food from trash and compost piles. Skunks may lose up to 30 to 50 percent of their body weight by spring.