A North American skunk with a black coat, white markings and a bushy tail.
The white dorsal marking usually divides into stripes toward the rump.
Striped skunks range from animals with extensive white fur to those that are almost entirely black. A continent-wide comparison linked this variation with the surrounding predator community. A study published in 2023 examined 749 North American museum skins, measuring the amount of white fur, the length of black–white borders and bilateral pattern symmetry.
Researchers compared collection locations with the ranges of potential predators, incorporating their diets and activity times into geographic risk estimates. Higher estimated risk was associated with longer black–white borders and more symmetrical stripes. The amount of white fur was also related to regional humidity. These associations revealed connections between skunk pattern variation, surrounding animals and climate.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Striped skunk conservation conditions are described regionally. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency reports that the species can be abundant in parts of the state and raises no conservation concerns there. The Pennsylvania Game Commission identifies vehicle collisions, disease, food shortages and habitat changes as factors affecting local populations. Its account also describes woods, shrubs and waterside vegetation near farmland as places where skunks feed or rest.