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A Red Fox--Striped Skunk Encounter Author(s): Clyde R. Houseknecht and Richard A. Huempfner Reviewed work(s): Source: American Midland Naturalist, Vol. 83, No. 1 (Jan., 1970), pp. 304-306 Published by: The University of Notre Dame Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2424025 . Accessed: 03/02/2012 15:18

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http://www.jstor.org 304 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 83(1) weighed 5.2 kg when captured on 12 June. It appeared normal upon examina- tion. On 31 May 1964, doe No. 3 was observed running down the face of a shale rock slide. When she was about 15 m from the bottom of the slide her front legs buckled and she somersaulted feet over head twice, then rolled to her left side and flipped over in one complete revolution. She struggled to a standing position, shook herself, and bedded in a red alder (Alnus rubra) stand some 9 m to the lower side of the slide. Doe No. 3 gave birth to a 2.5-kg male fawn on 15 June 1964 (Miller, 1965). The fawn appeared normal when examined at the birth site. On 3 June 1964, doe No. 4 was observed walking slowly up an old logging road. She stopped and faced the uphill side of the trail where the bank is about 1 m above the grade of the trail. She sprang from a standing position in an attempt to jump onto the ground above the bank, but did not clear the bank. She struck the ridge of the bank with the anterior portions of her forelegs and fell downgrade on her right side, turning over once. She rose quickly, hobbled for a few steps, and resumed walking slowly up the trail after about 1 min. Doe No. 4 gave birth to two, fawns in mid-July. The fawns were first ob- served on 26 July 1964, and subsequently they appeared to be healthy. I judge that these four does had accidents that were about as severe as could be experienced without physical harm to themselves. Although fawn mortality might occur through accidents to near-term does, it appears that the rate would not be consequential to the population. All four accidents seemingly resulted from the does' unawareness of their parturient state. These acts would not have been difficult to perform had the does not been pregnant. Acknowledgments.-I wish to thank Dr. A. Kraemer, Department of Zool- ogy, The University of Alberta, Dr. C. Jonkel, Messrs J. E. Bryant and G. D. Tessier, Canadian Wildlife Service, for reading the manuscript and for provid- ing critical comments and discussions. This work was carried out as part of a cooperative project of the Division of Wildlife Research, Oregon State Game Commission, the Oregon State Board of Forestry, and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State Uni- versity. Partially financed with Federal Aid to Restoration Funds under Pittman-Robertson Project W-51-R.

REF EREENCE MILLER, F. L. 1965. Behavior associated with parturition in black-tailed deer. J. Wildlife Mgt., 29:629-63 1.

FRANK L. MILLER. Oregon State Game Commission, Division of Wildlife Re- search, Corvallis (Present address: Canadian Wildlife Service, Eastern Region, 293 Albert Street, Ottawa 4, Ontario, Canada). Submitted 4 June 1969; accepted 26 June 1969.

A Red Fox-StripedSkunk Encounter

ABSTRACT: Results of an encounter between a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and five radio-marked striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) are described. The data suggest that the distance traveled by skunks while searching for a den is in- versely proportional to the number of dens previously utilized. Although reports of interspecific aggressive interactions are common in the literature, there is often little information on the subsequent behavior of the combatants. The development of automatic biotelemetry systems has facilitated 1970 NOTES AND DISCUSSION 305

this type of observation. This note presents the results of an interaction between a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and five radio-tagged striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) on the Cedar Creek Natural History Area in east-central Minnesota. In the course of a study of winter activity, 16 striped skunks were equipped with miniature radio-transmitters (Cochran and Lord, 1963). Movements and activity of all animals were continually monitored by an automatic radio track- ing system (Cochran et al., 1965). In addition all animals were located in the field each day by means of a portable direction-finding receiver. A group of five radio-marked skunks (one adult male, two adult females and two juvenile females) began the winter denning period in an inactive red fox den located in scrub oak (Quercus macrocarpa) upland. A litter of foxes had been reared in the den the previous spring. At the time of the encounter the accumulated snowfall had reached 16.5 cm. Daily checks for tracks indi- cated that no skunk had left the den at any time during the preceding five days. Photographic film records from the tracking system and tracks in the snow indicated that a red fox entered the den occupied by the radio-marked skunks at 0011 hr on 18 December 1968. The skunks left the den simultaneously and split into three groups (one male-one female; one adult female; two juvenile females). Tracks revealed that the juvenile females were pursued by the fox for a distance of at least 150 m, during which contact occurred at seven locations. Blood, skunk hair and musk were found at three of the locations. It was im- possible to follow the tracks after the animals encountered a snowmobile trail. The male and adult female moved directly across a white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and tamarack (Larix laricina) swamp to a second den location 650 m from the first. Both animals had used this new den several times pre- viously. The total time of movement was 29 min. The single adult female moved along a well-packed snowmobile trail to a den which it had occupied for a short time during October 1968. The straight line distance from the first to the second den was 480 m and the total time of movement was 49 min. After remaining at this den for 34 days the animal returned to the den in which the encounter took place. Movement of the juvenile females was much more extensive, lasting ap- proximately 119 min and covering a circuitous 1.5-km route. Both animals spent most of the remainder of 18 December at a second den which they had used previously. At 1930 hrs they began moving through an additional 16.5 cm of snow to a third den located 1.1 km and 970 m from the first and second dens, respectively. The duration of movement was 150 min and the approximate dis- tance covered was 3.5 km. Previous studies (Verts, 1967; Houseknecht, unpublished data) show that after weaning, many juvenile skunks use aboveground rest sites rather than underground dens. As a result, juveniles would be expected to be familiar with fewer underground dens than adult skunks. The data suggest that the distance traveled when searching for a den was inversely related to the number of dens previously encountered. This investigation was supported by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (COO-1332-49) and NIH Training Grant No. 1 TOI GM01779 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Dr. John Tester and Mr. Gene Montgomery critically read the manuscript.

REFERENCES COCHRAN, W. W. AND R. D. LORD, JR. 1963. A radio-tracking system for wild animals. J. Wildl. Manage., 27:9-24. COCHRAN, W. W., D. W. WARNER, J. R. TESTER AND V. B. KUECHLE. 1965. Automatic radio-tracking system for monitoring animal movements. Bio- Science, 15:98-100. 306 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 83(1)

VERTS, B. J. 1967. Biology of the striped skunk. U. of Illinois Press, Urbana. 218 p.

CLYDE R. HOUSEKNECHT AND RICHARD A. HUEMPFNER, Bell Museum of Nat- ural History, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455. Submitted 7 July 1969; accepted 15 July 1969.

FirstRecords of the Spotted Bat in Texas and Notes on its Natural History

ABSTRACT: During August of 1967, two adult female spotted, bats (Euderma maculatum) were mist-netted at Big Bend National Park, Texas. These are the first Texas specimens and represent a southeasterly range extension of 324 miles (520 km). The conditions encountered at this site indicate that Euderma is a cliff-roosting species and not tree-dwelling. Additional life history observations are noted. On 3 and 9 August 1967, I captured two adult female spotted bats, Euderma maculatum, at Big Bend National Park, Brewster Co., Texas. These are the first Texas specimens and represent the farthest southeast that this species has been recorded. The nearest recorded site is Mesilla Park, New Mexico (Hall and Kelson, 1959: 197), approximately 324 miles (520 km) distant. The first specimen, captured in a mist net at 2 :30 AM over a 9 X 9 m waterhole at about 700 m elevation, was post-lactating. The 9 August specimen. netted at 3 :25 AM approximately 25 m upstream from the first, over a stream- cut, cliff-rimmed, water-filled 27 X 3.6 m trough, was lactating. Examination of the reproductive tracts indicated that both females were in a post-partum condition. The measurements (mm) were: total length, 124, 127; tail length, 51, 50; hind foot, 10, 13; ear, 48, 46; tragus, 13, 14; and forearm 52, 53. The area of capture was a shallow, barren, hot, dry canyon whose walls consisted of angled and buckled pink and red limestone rocks. Throughout the year and especially in the dry season (April-July), these permanent pools are the only available water for many square miles. Vegetation of the canyon and surrounding area is typical Chihuahuan Desert; dominant plants include creosote bush (Larrea divaricata), candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica), Hechtia (Hechtia scariosa), centuryplant (Agave lechugilla), blind pricklypear (Opuntia rufida), and ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). This site seems atypical in location and habitat. It is one of the hottest (max. 38-45 C) and driest canyons in the park. Other reported netting sites for Euderma are woodlands at higher elevations with lower average tempera- tures (Constantine, 1961; Jones, 1961; Easterla, 1965; Findley and Jones, 1965). Except for shrubs such as Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana), trees are lacking at the Texas site. The nearest trees are cottonwoods (Populus palmeri) along the Rio Grande (about 5 miles, or 8 kmn, distant) and mountain forest in the igneous Chisos Mountains (about 14 miles, or 22 kmn, distant). Because permanent water is present at both of these wooded locations, any Euderma living there would not have to leave to obtain water. Findley and Jones (1961) suggested that ". . . rather than being a bat of open or brushy country, the spotted bat bears and rears its young in ponderosa pine forest and perhaps in other forest types in the southwest and, after the breeding season, wanders into lower zones where it occasionally comes to the attention of man." I question whether Euderma is a tree-roosting bat and suggest that it is a cliff-dwelling species whose diurnal roosts are the cracks and crevices of canyons and cliffs. For this reason ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) has no, influence on its dis- tribution. During parturition Euderma may inhabit open or scrub country or