Seasonal and daily activity patterns of striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) in the Canadian prairies

Abstract

We investigated the hypothesis that the daily and seasonal activity patterns of female and male striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) vary with reproductive constraints. Four biological periods were identified: pre‐parturition (1 April–14 May), parturition and rearing (15 May–30 June), pre‐dispersal (1–31 July), and dispersal (1–31 August). Tracking data (1873h) indicated that activity (percentage time active) of female skunks varied among seasons, being lowest during the pre‐parturition period (34 ± 10%), and highest during the pre‐dispersal period (66 ± 4%). Male activity did not vary among seasons (55 ± 3%). Animals of both sexes were mostly nocturnal, and had similar patterns of daily activity. Onset and cessation of activity were highly variable, but were not affected by season or sex. Daily activity typically started 13 ± 10 min before sunset, and was terminated 35 ± 8min before sunrise. Night‐time activity periods of both sexes were often (57%,n= 108) interrupted by at least one resting period (median = 1, range = 0–4). However, females rarely (5%,n= 89) returned to the maternal den to rest. We hypothesize that the nocturnal activity of adults is linked to prey activity and reduced predation risk, whereas apparent diurnal activity of juveniles represents an adaptation to daily fasting periods caused by the nocturnal foraging trips of females.