It is hard to guess what a Striped skunk weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) on average weights 2.4 kg (5.29 lbs).
The Striped skunk is from the family Mustelidae (genus: Mephitis). It is usually born with about 33 grams (0.07 lbs). They can live for up to 12.92 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 40 cm (1′ 4″). On average, Striped skunks can have babies 2 times per year with a litter size of 5.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is a skunk of the genus Mephitis that occurs across most of North America, including southern Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. It is currently listed as least concern by the IUCN on account of its wide range and ability to adapt to human-modified environments.Striped skunks are polygamous omnivores with few natural predators, save for birds of prey. Like all skunks, they possess highly developed, musk-filled scent glands to ward off predators. They have a long history of association with humans, having been trapped and captively bred for their fur and kept as pets. Striped skunks are one of the most recognizable of North America’s animals, and are a popular figure in cartoons and children’s books.
Animals of the same family as a Striped skunk
We found other animals of the Mustelidae family:
- Beech marten bringing 1.67 kilos (3.68 lbs) to the scale
- American marten with a weight of 878 grams
- Steppe polecat bringing 1.68 kilos (3.7 lbs) to the scale
- Long-tailed weasel with a weight of 191 grams
- Hooded skunk bringing 1.1 kilos (2.43 lbs) to the scale
- Asian small-clawed otter bringing 3.53 kilos (7.78 lbs) to the scale
- Mountain weasel with a weight of 180 grams
- Honey badger bringing 9 kilos (19.84 lbs) to the scale
- Spotted-necked otter bringing 4.18 kilos (9.22 lbs) to the scale
- Greater grison bringing 1.4 kilos (3.09 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Striped skunk
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Mephitis mephitis:
- Sunda stink badger with a weight of 2.5 kilos (5.51 lbs)
- Broom hare with a weight of 2.83 kilos (6.24 lbs)
- Subalpine woolly rat with a weight of 1.99 kilos (4.39 lbs)
- Scrub hare with a weight of 2.6 kilos (5.73 lbs)
- Dryas monkey with a weight of 2.78 kilos (6.13 lbs)
- African brush-tailed porcupine with a weight of 2.88 kilos (6.35 lbs)
- Central American agouti with a weight of 2.31 kilos (5.09 lbs)
- Small-toothed palm civet with a weight of 2.32 kilos (5.11 lbs)
- Lesser cane rat with a weight of 2.71 kilos (5.97 lbs)
- Crested agouti with a weight of 2.65 kilos (5.84 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Striped skunk
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Striped skunk:
- Patagonian weasel with a size of 32.4 cm (1′ 1″)
- Cacomistle with a size of 42.5 cm (1′ 5″)
- Grandidier’s mongoose with a size of 35.9 cm (1′ 3″)
- Wolf’s mona monkey with a size of 48 cm (1′ 7″)
- Northern Luzon giant cloud rat with a size of 38.2 cm (1′ 4″)
- Omilteme cottontail with a size of 39.2 cm (1′ 4″)
- Fennec fox with a size of 37.5 cm (1′ 3″)
- Bronze quoll with a size of 35.6 cm (1′ 3″)
- African brush-tailed porcupine with a size of 43.1 cm (1′ 5″)
- Golden-backed uakari with a size of 40 cm (1′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Striped skunk
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (5) as a Striped skunk:
- European rabbit
- Southern red-backed vole
- Northern short-tailed shrew
- Golden-mantled ground squirrel
- Marbled polecat
- Lowland streaked tenrec
- Tundra vole
- Piebald shrew
- Pale field rat
- Northwestern deer mouse
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Striped skunk
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Striped skunk:
- Crab-eating raccoon with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Sugar glider with an average maximal age of 14 years
- North American beaver with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Long-tailed chinchilla with an average maximal age of 11.25 years
- Greater glider with an average maximal age of 15 years
- Silver dik-dik with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Pygmy hog with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Blue duiker with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Common dwarf mongoose with an average maximal age of 10.92 years
- Thomson’s gazelle with an average maximal age of 15.17 years