What is a skunk's natural diet, and how does it get its food?

South Carolina skunks are omnivorous animals. Vegetable matter forms a considerable portion of their diet but this is not their diet's only aspect. Their natural digestive system is quite flexible, so they can eat a wide range of food. This is the reason why they have spread across North America.



80% of a Greenville skunk's diet is fruits, vegetables and plant matter, though this is dependent on the availability of such resources around them. They eat berries, nuts, hulled seeds like sunflower seeds, linseeds and almonds and small plants, though they can survive by eating grass, leaves as well as roots. Carrots, green beans, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower, and broccoli are also eaten by them. They can even eat butternuts, yams, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and acorn squash.

Fruits are healthy for the skunks and they can feed on strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, melons, bananas, apples and pears.

Greenville skunks can eat a variety of small insects that range from grasshoppers, bees, ants, wasps, crickets, beetles, beetle larvae honeybee, lizards, frogs to small birds, mice, and moles. They can eat any type of eggs which they find. They also feed on carrion and can remove the meat from carcasses which have been killed by other animals.

The skunks so not use a lot of effort to find their food. Their favourite technique of finding the food is digging a cone-shaped hole in the lawn or grassy area from which they consume the grubs and worms emerging from it. These rodents are usually active around the dawn and dusk but during the winters they enter into a semi-hibernation state where little energy is needed.

While eating the bees, they are protected from their stings because they possess thick fur. They scratch the entrance of the beehive and when they come out of their hives, the skunks eat them before they fly away.

The skunks also feed on the food stored by other rodents such as weasel but they do not store the food. An owner of the skunk needs to make sure that it eats on regular basis, such that no day is left uneaten. It can be feed with its favourite food such a yogurt, fruit, and meat. In case the skunk refuses to eat, it should be forced to eat pureed food when required. An adult skunk should eat twice a day. It is needed to make sure that they do not become too fat or too thin.

If you are doubtful regarding what has to be fed to the skunk, you can purchase commercial food that is developed specifically for wild animals.

The best way to feed a skunk by least caring for them is to feed them with low-fat foods and those that have less protein content. The intake of high protein and high-fat food can make the skunks lazy and slack which can worsen its health till death.

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