A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Conepatus leuconotus
The American hog-nosed skunk is a species of hog-nosed skunk from Central and North America, and is one of the largest skunk in the world, growing to lengths of up to 2.7 feet.
I was waiting for this guy since 5 in the morning. I've been tracking him and found his home so i staked it out with my fiance. after watching his morning routines, i was surprised when he snuk up on us! he gave a startle as much as we startled him! hahaha. so he decided to turn around a take off. at that point i hadn't done all this for nothing so i chased him! i was much faster, skunks are slow, so he threatened to spray me and i was no more than 10 ft away. i started talking calmly to him and back up a little. he turned around and challenged me, all the while im taking pictures. unfortunatley some long grass was in my way that i didn't notice and its darker out than it looks so it was hard to focus. but this is what i got. him disappearing into his emergency escape hole.
It looks like you have a lovely Striped Skunk here!
The American Hog-nosed skunk looks a bit different and does not appear to occur in California. See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_h...