Animal Fact File: Striped Skunk
What animal can warn an attacker with stomps, raised fur, and a lifted tail before turning its rear end into a surprisingly powerful defense?
Meet the striped skunk, a small mammal with a big reputation. Find out how its bold black-and-white markings serve as a warning, why spraying is actually a last resort, and how its sharp claws help it dig up dinner. You'll also discover where skunks make their homes, what they eat, and how these mostly nighttime animals manage to live surprisingly close to people.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Meet nine wild animals that live in forests, parks, gardens, and neighborhoods: the red fox, white-tailed deer, mallard duck, striped skunk, eastern grey squirrel, raccoon, European badger, hedgehog, and hazel dormouse.
Click on each animal's picture to watch a short video, then click on its name for a fact about what makes it unusual, from its senses and behavior to the ways it has adapted to survive.
Some of these animals may live near you, while others are much harder to spot. Along the way, you'll learn how each one finds food, raises its young, avoids predators, and makes use of the habitat around it.
For Teachers and Parents:
Woodland Animals works well as an introduction to habitats and adaptations or as a self-guided activity for students working on their own or in pairs. Here are a few ways to use it:
- Before exploring: Ask students which of the nine animals they've seen in real life and where. It's a quick way to connect the lesson to their own surroundings.
- While exploring: Have students record one adaptation for each animal, such as a special sense, body feature, or behavior, and how it helps the animal survive.
- After exploring: Ask students to sort the animals by what they eat, when they're active, or how they avoid predators. They can then compare animals that share a habitat but survive in different ways.
- Extension: Some of these animals live in North America, some in Europe, and some in both. Students can research which ones live in their region and why others don't.
More Like This
Can a squirrel really fly? Not exactly — but it can leap, fall, and glide through the air with surprising control.
Eastern grey squirrels may be familiar sights in parks and backyards, but there’s a lot going on behind those quick paws and bushy tails. Explore the climbing skills that help them navigate the treetops, the clever way they stash food for later, and the surprising role those forgotten nuts can play in growing new trees. You'll also discover how squirrels communicate, raise their young, and adapt to life in both forests and human neighborhoods.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
How can an animal identify what it’s holding without even looking at it? For the common raccoon, the answer is all in its paws.
Raccoons are equipped with remarkably sensitive front paws that help them explore, handle food, and investigate their surroundings. Find out how these dexterous mammals use touch, climbing skills, and an anything-goes diet to thrive in forests, wetlands, and neighborhoods. You'll also discover why raccoons sometimes seem to “wash” their food, where they sleep during the day, and how their adaptability can create both opportunities and challenges when they live near people.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
How many earthworms could a hungry badger eat in one night? More than 200 — and that’s just one of the surprising things about this underground-dwelling mammal.
Meet the European badger, a powerful digger that spends its days below ground and its nights exploring above it. Take a look inside a badger’s sett, discover how its strong claws and keen sense of smell help it find food, and find out why earthworms are such an important part of its diet. You'll also learn how badger families live together, raise their cubs, and keep their underground homes in order.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Could you sleep for six months and still have plenty of energy when you wake up? The hazel dormouse does just that, spending much of the colder part of the year in hibernation.
This tiny golden-brown rodent spends the warmer months climbing through trees and hedgerows, eating flowers, insects, berries, and nuts before preparing for winter. Discover how a dormouse’s furry tail and large eyes help it navigate after dark, why autumn is a race to build up energy reserves, and how its long winter sleep helps it survive when food is scarce. You'll also find out why these little climbers need connected woodlands and hedgerows to thrive.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Can a squirrel really fly? Not exactly — but it can leap, fall, and glide through the air with surprising control.
Eastern grey squirrels may be familiar sights in parks and backyards, but there’s a lot going on behind those quick paws and bushy tails. Explore the climbing skills that help them navigate the treetops, the clever way they stash food for later, and the surprising role those forgotten nuts can play in growing new trees. You'll also discover how squirrels communicate, raise their young, and adapt to life in both forests and human neighborhoods.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
How can an animal identify what it’s holding without even looking at it? For the common raccoon, the answer is all in its paws.
Raccoons are equipped with remarkably sensitive front paws that help them explore, handle food, and investigate their surroundings. Find out how these dexterous mammals use touch, climbing skills, and an anything-goes diet to thrive in forests, wetlands, and neighborhoods. You'll also discover why raccoons sometimes seem to “wash” their food, where they sleep during the day, and how their adaptability can create both opportunities and challenges when they live near people.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
How many earthworms could a hungry badger eat in one night? More than 200 — and that’s just one of the surprising things about this underground-dwelling mammal.
Meet the European badger, a powerful digger that spends its days below ground and its nights exploring above it. Take a look inside a badger’s sett, discover how its strong claws and keen sense of smell help it find food, and find out why earthworms are such an important part of its diet. You'll also learn how badger families live together, raise their cubs, and keep their underground homes in order.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)
Could you sleep for six months and still have plenty of energy when you wake up? The hazel dormouse does just that, spending much of the colder part of the year in hibernation.
This tiny golden-brown rodent spends the warmer months climbing through trees and hedgerows, eating flowers, insects, berries, and nuts before preparing for winter. Discover how a dormouse’s furry tail and large eyes help it navigate after dark, why autumn is a race to build up energy reserves, and how its long winter sleep helps it survive when food is scarce. You'll also find out why these little climbers need connected woodlands and hedgerows to thrive.
Teachers and parents, you can use this fact file to:
- Introduce an animal, wildlife, or life science unit
- Support nonfiction reading and vocabulary practice
- Explore animal adaptations, behaviors, and habitats
- Compare animals and the ecosystems they live in
- Practice finding and organizing information from nonfiction texts
- Prepare students for animal research projects or presentations (use our animal report templates!)
- Connect science learning to conservation and environmental issues
- Pair with videos, articles, or other informational texts (see Related Resources below)