# Yellow VERTICAL stripes on a "skunk" ???



## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Tonight I was driving home and in the road was what appeared to be a skunk, only it had very yellow vertical stripes on its body, the body & head were jet black, and the bushy tail had a white tinge only on the very end of the hair tips. I would've LOVED to have taken a pic of it, but for obvious reasons, wasn't about to get out of the car and close enough to do it. Was this a skunk??? I've lived in TN my whole life and see skunks on a nightly basis, but I've never seen anything like this before. It was small for a skunk, yet shaped like one. I thought you guys who hang out in the woods might know what this was?
TIA
backwoods wife


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## tyusclan (Jan 1, 2005)

Sounds like might have been a spotted skunk.


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## Guest (Nov 15, 2009)

Could have been a spotted skunk.

Keep clicking next to see more pics:

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=spotted+skunks&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=20

Some have spots only, but some have stripes going the length of the body, some have stripes going across the body, some have curvy stripes. Some have little white in the tail, some have solid white tails- and all in between.

Not sure about the yellow. But domestic skunks have been bred in a wide range of colors. The genes are there to make that possible, so you might have seen a sport. Or it may have been a trick of the light.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Yep, it was a spotted skunk all right! The one I saw didn't look quite like any of the photos, but it was similar enough that I'm satisfied that's what it was. Really a strange looking little critter! I did some reading up on them and the yellow looking stripes "may" have been from the spray, which it said turns things yellow. Thanks everybody!
Its funny that I've lived in the woods in TN for over 50 years and that's the first one I've ever seen. I see 4 or 5 regular skunks a night around here, but that was the very first spotted one.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Most spotted skunks live in the SW of the U.S. We have them in TX and OK. I have been considering buying one as a pet. Anyone have one in the past as pets?


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## tyusclan (Jan 1, 2005)

TedH71 said:


> Anyone have one in the past as pets?


NO THANK YOU! 

I am not into the "exotic" pet thing. Give me a good dog and maybe a couple of barn cats and I'm happy.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Had a friend who said skunks were good mice killers. Loved to stalk mice in his barn. He said one downside to owning one was that normally no sane vet wants to have a skunk as a client and that sometimes you had to do the descenting thing therefore the skunk couldn't live outside. They eat cat food...


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## gwhilikerz (Aug 7, 2006)

My cousin had a pet skunk when we were just kids that I didn't know about.. There was a family fishing/camping trip that we took every year. My cousin decided to play a joke on my brother and me. He put the skunk outside our tent and started screaming "SKUNK!!!!!!!!", I ran out of the tent just in time to see the skunk running, sort of, toward another tent. I had a Dr. Pepper bottle in my hand so I threw that at the skunk. Bullseye! One dead skunk and one mad cousin.


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## KIT.S (Oct 8, 2008)

I met people on vacation who had an albino pet skunk. It was brown and cream instead of black and white. It seemed to behave like a cat, but not soft and fluffy. It's hair was stiff and coarse - not as pet-able as I expected. It walked on a leash and traveled in their motorhome. It did invite comment, though, of course.
Kit


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## Guest (Nov 23, 2009)

KIT.S said:


> I met people on vacation who had an albino pet skunk. It was brown and cream instead of black and white. It seemed to behave like a cat, but not soft and fluffy. It's hair was stiff and coarse - not as pet-able as I expected. It walked on a leash and traveled in their motorhome. It did invite comment, though, of course.
> Kit


I've been around pet skunks, and yes, their behavior is very much like a cat. And yes the fur is coarse.


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