Species group · Mammals
Hog-nosed Skunks
WAnimals has 2 species of hog-nosed skunk, in the family Mephitidae.
- 2 species
- 1 family
- 7 countries
- 50 parks
- Weight
- 1 kg – 3 kg
- Length
- 30 cm – 50 cm
- Lifespan
- 8 – 10 years
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.
All 2 species of hog-nosed skunks on WAnimals
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
2 Least Concern
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Where they live
Recorded in 7 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…?
It gives warning before spraying: it stamps the ground with its front feet, arches its back, raises its tail and shows the white stripes; only if the intruder persists does it fire an oily fluid from its anal glands that carries several metres.
Its white stripes on a black ground are a classic example of aposematic colouring: they are not for concealment but for precisely the opposite, to be recognised from a distance and avoided.
It sprays a foul-smelling fluid from its anal glands as far as 3 metres.
Its anal secretion contains sulphur compounds so persistent that the smell can last for weeks in clothing and be detected more than a kilometre away with a favourable wind.
It is practically immune to the venom of South American rattlesnakes and has been documented killing and eating them, a resistance it shares with other American skunks.