If you spend enough time around old-school outdoorsmen, sooner or later you will hear somebody call a skunk a “polecat.”
But the plains spotted skunk is neither a polecat in the Old World sense nor anything remotely related to a cat. It is a true skunk—and one of the most interesting and increasingly difficult-to-find little predators on the American landscape.
Now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is taking another look at its future.
The Service announced in July that it completed a 90-day finding on a petition seeking protection for the plains spotted skunk under the Endangered Species Act. The finding does not mean the animal has been listed as threatened or endangered. It means the petition contained enough substantial new information to warrant a more extensive 12-month status review.
That distinction is important.
In 2023, the USFWS determined that federal listing was not warranted based on the scientific and commercial information available at the time. According to the new finding, however, more recent information suggests plains spotted skunks may occupy a smaller distribution than previously believed or exist at very low numbers across portions of the Great Plains.
That was enough to reopen the question.
Not Your Typical Skunk
Most people who have spent time in the country know the striped skunk. They are relatively common, readily show up around roads, farms and rural neighborhoods, and occasionally announce their presence without ever being seen.
Spotted skunks are different.
They are considerably smaller and more slender than the familiar striped skunk. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department information describes spotted skunks as the smallest skunks, with males typically weighing less than two pounds and females around a pound. Their black-and-white pattern is also far more complex than the broad stripes of the common striped skunk.
They are also famous for one of the strangest defensive displays in North American wildlife.
When threatened, spotted skunks can rise onto their front feet into an almost handstand-like position, pointing their hindquarters toward the threat before deploying the chemical defense that makes the skunk family famous.
Seeing one is memorable.
I have been fortunate enough to see a spotted skunk in the Texas Hill Country, and it was one of those wildlife encounters that immediately stood out. I have seen plenty of striped skunks over the years. A spotted skunk is something different altogether.
Where Are They Going?
The plains spotted skunk currently occurs in portions of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Texas Parks and Wildlife includes the plains spotted skunk among the state’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need. It is not currently federally or state listed in Texas, but its state conservation rank reflects significant concern over its status.
And that is what makes the new federal review worth watching.
The question isn’t whether spotted skunks have completely disappeared from the Great Plains. They haven’t. The question is how many remain, how widely they are distributed and whether their populations have declined enough to require federal protection.
During the 12-month review, USFWS will evaluate threats and consider the best available scientific and commercial information. Ultimately, the Service can determine that listing is warranted, not warranted, or warranted but precluded by higher-priority listing actions.
The agency is also requesting information from researchers, wildlife agencies and the public that could help establish a clearer picture of the species’ status.
A Little Predator Worth Watching
Big predators get most of the attention in wildlife conservation.
Wolves, bears and mountain lions generate headlines. A little black-and-white carnivore weighing a pound or two can disappear from parts of its range with far less public notice.
That doesn’t make the story less important.
The plains spotted skunk is part of the incredible diversity of predators native to America’s grasslands, woodlands and rural landscapes. It is a reminder that some of our most fascinating wildlife can live practically under our noses while remaining almost completely unseen.
The federal review should help answer an important question: Is the plains spotted skunk simply difficult to detect, or are there truly far fewer of them than there used to be?
For those of us fortunate enough to have encountered one, there is no mistaking how different these little “polecats” are from the striped skunks we commonly see.
And despite the nickname, there isn’t a cat involved at all.
The plains spotted skunk is simply one of America’s smallest, strangest and increasingly mysterious native carnivores.
Chester Moore
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