Kleeberg, B. A., W. S. Fairbanks, and R. C. Lonsinger. 2024. White-backed hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus leuconotus) occurrence in the panhandle of Oklahoma. Southwestern Naturalist 69(1): 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1894/0038-4909-69.1.9
Abstract
The white-backed hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus leuconotus) is an understudied mesocarnivore thought to be declining throughout its range in southwestern United States. A live record of a hog-nosed skunk has not been documented in Oklahoma since the 1940s. We conducted a camera trapping survey in Cimarron County, Oklahoma during summer 2022 and confirmed the presence of a hog-nosed skunk in Oklahoma. This finding provides the first evidence of a live hog-nosed skunk in Oklahoma in nearly 80 years and is within the range of a poorly documented subspecies (C. l. figginsi) believed to be in decline.