Denning up with Skunks

Did you know that up to 20 skunks can share the same den in the winter! That's a lot of skunk. Skunks are usually more solitary creatures unless the female is taking care of her young or they are trying to keep warm in the winter. Skunks don't go into a full hibernation, but they will hide away in their dens if temperatures drop too low. On warmer days they will come out again to look for food.

Skunks will typically use dens from other burrowing species, like ground squirrels, but they can sometimes be seen digging their own burrows. One part of the burrow is usually lined with leaves that forms their nest. In colder months, they can also use leaves to try to cover any openings to their dens.

In the Okanagan and Similkameen, we only have the one type of skunk, the Striped skunk. This is true for the rest of BC as well, except in the lower mainland where they also have the rare Spotted skunk.