Do Skunks Hibernate During the Winter?

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You won't see skunks much during the winter, but that's not because they hibernate, like bears. Instead,they live a little bit like a human. They sleep a lot of the time, because it’s far too cold to anything else. They come out to find food when it is necessary, preferring to stay in the warm than go out and play in the cold. They also adapt their patterns a little to better suit the chillier weather.



When you think about, skunks are actually pretty smart creatures really.

During the summer, skunks tend to sleep through the day, come alive at night, but not too much, rushing around the most at dusk and dawn. That's when most scavengers come to life.

When the temperature is hotter, skunks will make use of it. When the weather is colder, on the other hand, they will pick their timings better. They will come out whenever the temperature makes it comfortable to do so, and if that means during the day, they’ll wake up and do their thing. If that means during the night, when they are usually chilling out and resting, they will do just that. They need to adapt a little in order to survive.

Although skunks do sleep a lot more during the winter, the same can be said for a lot of animals. The energy they would consume doing other stuff, rather than sleeping, would mean they should also eat more in order to sustain themselves. One of the biggest problems with winter is that food is scarce. It’s definitely harder to find food than it is at any other time of the year. The skunk could waste more energy than they would find looking for food. They would save a lot of energy by copying up somewhere warm and sleeping away most of the winter, just coming out when they absolutely must for food.

Go back to the Skunk Removal page, or learn tips to do it yourself with my How to Get Rid of Skunks guide.