Before you smell a skunk, you can often read its feet. On soft dirt after rain, or in dusty barn edges around Flower Mound, striped skunk tracks tell a night story.
What’s true here
Striped skunks are common across North Texas. They walk on plantigrade feet (heel can show), usually with five toes front and back. Front tracks often show longer claws—useful for digging grubs. The stride is ambling; tracks may weave as the animal forages, not sprint.
How to tell them from similar tracks
- Cat: usually no claw marks (retractable); rounder pads.
- Raccoon: hand-like front prints, longer toes, often near water.
- Skunk: claw marks often visible; smaller than raccoon; may pair with shallow digs for insects.
Farm manners
Skunks eat insects, grubs, and sometimes eggs or pet food left out. We don’t harass them. We seal trash, lift feed, and give them an exit at night. A calm skunk is a neighbor; a surprised skunk is a chemistry lesson.
Kid question: What did this animal eat last night, judging only by digs and tracks?