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Eastern Spotted Skunk
D
id you know Nebraska is home to two species of
skunk? The common and often smelled by highways
striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) and the much less
common and rarely seen eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale
putorius). Spotted skunks have a few common names
including polecat, civet, or civet cat. Unfortunately, it's
rare to see a spotted skunk in Nebraska these days and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing their status
to see if they warrant protection under the Endangered
Species Act.
The last spotted skunk confirmed in Nebraska was a
roadkill specimen found near Valentine National Wildlife
Refuge (Cherry County) in 2017. Since then, Nebraska
Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) has been working
to find any remaining populations in the state. In 2019,
NGPC collaborated with Nebraska Master Naturalists to
run a series of camera traps in the Kearney area (Buffalo
County), but no spotted skunks were found. Our current
partnership started in 2021 with a graduate student
(April Sperfslage) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha
coordinating with NGPC's Community Science Education
Coordinator (Alie Mayes) to develop a long-term program
that anyone with a game camera can help with.
April has been running a series of camera traps, mostly
in the Sandhills where that last specimen was found.
Currently, she has twenty-seven camera traps deployed
and has around 150,000 pictures collected! Unfortunately,
no pictures show a spotted skunk, but she has gotten some
great pictures of coyotes, badgers, and other common
species. Running camera traps sounds easy, but it takes
many digital memory cards, batteries, and travel time
to keep them all operating. Fortunately, we've been able
to use support from the Nebraska Wildlife Conservation
Fund to purchase some of our supplies and equipment.
Recently, April got some possible sightings from
landowners and fur trappers in southeast Nebraska. Now
she's planning to deploy some cameras and live traps in
this area. Interested in helping? You can find out more
information and how to participate by visiting NGPC's
spotted skunk webpage at: http://outdoornebraska.gov/
spottedskunk/. Questions or spotted skunk sightings can
be sent to: ngpc.spottedskunk@nebraska.gov.
Eastern Spotted Skunk smelling a sardine can on the side of a tree as part of a camera trap research project.
ANTHONY BRAIS
Research Continues
By Shaun Dunn, Zoologist, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
