The striped skunk is an interesting component of New York's wildlife assortment. It is about the size of a house cat and has a potent musk that often overshadows the beauty of its glossy and durable fur. Formerly a member of the weasel family (with mink, otter, fisher, marten), skunks have now been classified into their own family, "Mephitidae". Like the more glamorous members of the weasel family, the skunk also has glossy and durable fur that can be dyed uniformly black for exquisite garment trimming.
The skunk's best known feature is its ability to squirt an extremely potent and disagreeable secretion at potential attackers. The Latin name for skunk, Mephitis mephitis, means "double foul odor."
The skunk lives in a variety of habitats but prefers open areas. Its numbers usually decline as abandoned fields and pastures become forested. However, roadside and lawn mowing, or any maintenance practice which prevents the development of a forest canopy, favors the continued existence of skunks. Residential areas that have both lawns and large, mast producing shade trees often provide optimal habitat for skunks.
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