Western spotted skunk
A smaller skunk with broken white stripes and spots.
Wild Aware Utah says the western spotted skunk is Utah's smaller skunk, weighing about 2 to 4 pounds, with black-and-white markings. It lives in wooded areas, grasslands and even towns, and eats small birds, eggs, rodents, insects, reptiles and fruit.
Like the striped skunk it is mostly solitary and nocturnal, active through the year, and gives warnings before it sprays. Wild Aware lists both species' tracks at about one and a half inches long. The American Society of Mammalogists database shows Utah within the species' range across the western United States.
Utah classes spotted skunks as protected furbearers managed with regulated trapping seasons, unlike striped skunks, which can be taken year-round. Because the two species overlap and spotted skunks are rarely seen, treat a sighting as a good wildlife observation and keep your distance.
How to recognize it
Small skunk with broken white spots and stripes.
Conservation
Protected furbearer in Utah, managed with regulated trapping seasons, per Wild Aware Utah.
Watching and staying safe
Keep at least 20 feet away and do not handle or feed skunks.
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