These social and nocturnal creatures, found throughout the United States and Canada, are best known for their ability to spray a foul-smelling and sticky fluid at potential predators. The smell is bad enough that even bears stay far away! Striped skunks spend their days in sheltered burrows and venture out at night to hunt. While they don’t actually hibernate in winter, they’re relatively inactive during cooler months and don’t eat a lot. In fact, most winters one male and up to twenty females will huddle together for warmth in a burrow. Skunks are pretty adaptable and can live in deserts, grassy plains, forests, pastures, and even modern suburbs. Since they’re omnivorous they eat whatever they can find—insects, small mammals, fish, crustaceans, fruits, nuts, leaves, grasses, and even leftovers tossed into garbage cans by humans. They don’t see well, but their hearing is excellent. You can always tell a striped skunk from other kinds of skunk by the big white stripe it sports from head to tail.