In Mount Rainier National Park it has been reported from near Longmire, Tahoma Creek and Carbon River. In 1897 records show that it was fairly common in the Nisqually River Valley, but in recent years observations have become extremely limited. Its present status must be considered as uncommon to rare.
This is without doubt the most interesting as well as the handsomest skunk in the Northwest. Unlike its larger cousin, the Puget Sound striped skunk, this little animal is graceful and rather agile. Seldom is it seen during the day time, preferring to roam about in search of food during the night. Its travels take it over a wide area, and it shows a fondness for man-made buildings. It has been known to occupy attics in dwellings, and one disconcerted wife of a National Park Service employee found one casually strolling through the hallway of her house one night! It is rather playful and even tempered, and seldom resorts to the strong perfume it carries.
Its food is varied, and may include almost anything from insects and reptiles to small rodents. As a mouser it rivals a cat in effectiveness. Sometimes referred to as the “hydrophobia skunk” or “phoby-cat” it has had a bad reputation in the past as a carrier of hydrophobia. However, the belief so prevalent among many people that its bite will always produce this dread malady has no foundation in fact. Many animals may carry hydrophobia, and there are few authentic records of the skunks as carriers.
PUGET SOUND STRIPED SKUNK
Mephitis mephitis spissigrada Bangs
Larger and stockier than the little spotted skunk, the Puget Sound striped skunk is black, with a narrow white stripe through the forehead, a broad white stripe starting on the head and dividing at the shoulders into two broad stripes that run back along the sides of the body. There are long white hairs on the tail; the tip of the tail is black.
Specimens in park collection: RNP-43, Longmire Museum, Park Headquarters.
The Puget Sound striped skunk is found from northwestern Oregon through the lowlands of western Washington and into the Puget Sound section of southern British Columbia.
In the park it has been recorded only once. This lone record was from near the Nisqually Entrance where one was killed on the highway by an automobile.
This type of skunk is well known throughout the United States. Its cousins through the Middle West, East and South are familiar to every farm boy. Its struggle for existence has been seriously threatened in many localities because of the value of its fur. Because it prefers open country to dense forests and mountains, it occupies the same regions as man.
The skunk is by nature a timid and gentle animal, and by moving slowly it is possible to approach one with no fear of disastrous results. However, practically anyone will agree that it is a safer course to simply let the skunk go its way unmolested. The powers of persuasion it possesses are not to be taken lightly!