Introducing: Spotted skunk, aka Spilogale gracilis
Mustelidae family: My family includes badgers, skunks, otters, ferrets and weasels.
Good things come in small packages: I'm small, about 2 pounds, with bold black-and-white spots. My tail is bushy black with a white tip.
Skunk habits: We're nocturnal creatures. We don't hibernate, but we can spend several days underground during winter storms.
A place like Sabino Canyon: We prefer rocky riparian canyons. We build our own dens in brush piles, hollow logs or mine shafts. We often share our dens with other animals, such as our friend the pack rat. Our dens have a distinctive, strong, musky order and may be littered with berries, insect parts and bits of fur.
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It's going to be a bad day the day you upset a skunk: We can spray a noxious fluid up to 12 feet.
Predators: We can stop most predators in their tracks, except for humans and automobiles. Our only other major predator is the great horned owl, which has almost no sense of smell.