---
title: "Striped Skunk"
description: "Mephitis mephitis — Mammals. The striped skunk is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/striped-skunk
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Striped Skunk

> Mephitis mephitis — Mammals. The striped skunk is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico.

- Scientific name: *Mephitis mephitis*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 48660
- Wikidata: [Q368495](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q368495)
- iNaturalist taxon: [41880](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41880)

## Names

- en: Striped Skunk
- de: Streifenskunk
- es: Zorrillo listado norteño
- fr: Mouffette rayée
- it: Moffetta comune
- nl: Gestreept stinkdier
- pt: Cangambá
- pl: Skunks zwyczajny

## Countries with the most observations

US (35901), CA (7677), MX (614)

## Summary

The striped skunk is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that occurs across much of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on account of its wide range and ability to adapt to human-modified environments.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striped_skunk

## Photo

![Striped Skunk](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/striped-skunk/medium.jpg)

Photo: Scott Loarie · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1714955

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/striped-skunk?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).