Spilogale gracilis
Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis) is a spotted skunk of western North America. With a total length of 35–45 cm (14–18 in), the western spotted skunk is smaller than the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). Males, which weigh 336 to 734 g (11.9 to 25.9 oz), are significantly heavier than females, at 227 to 482 g (8.0 to 17.0 oz), but only about 6% longer, on average. The adult is boldly striped black and creamy white, with three longitudinal stripes on each side of the front part of the body, and three vertical stripes on the hind-parts. One pair of longitudinal stripes runs either side of the spine, with the second pair running over the shoulders, and extending forward onto the face. The third pair is lower over the shoulders, and curves downward at the middle of the body to form the first pair of vertical stripes. Behind this, the second pair of vertical stripes rise from the knees to the rump, while the final stripes are often little more than spots. In special cases, the normally black areas of the fur can appear in shades of red or brown, and areas of the skunk that traditionally appear white may appear in shades of gray or yellow, it is still unclear... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Spotted Skunk sighting in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 22 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Western Spotted Skunk in Channel Islands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, May, August and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Channel Islands National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 60 mm in January.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Spotted Skunk sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Channel Islands National Park, in our data
Channel Islands National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Western Spotted Skunk sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Spotted Skunk is recorded against all the mammals logged in Channel Islands National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
