. The Canadian field-naturalist. 256 The Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol. 93 11- 10 9 5- 2-. 10 20 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 I I I I I I I I 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Juvenile Proportion % Figure 3. Juvenile proportion of female Striped Skunks in 56 communal dens in Alberta and adjacent Saskatchewan. the variation between observed and expected distri- butions. Juveniles might be more readily accepted into dens of reduced size. Denning Period Success of live-capture at sites of communal dens at Tofield increased from 69 and 124/1000 trap-nights in July and August, respectively, to 275 in September;
. The Canadian field-naturalist. 256 The Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol. 93 11- 10 9 5- 2-. 10 20 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 I I I I I I I I 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Juvenile Proportion % Figure 3. Juvenile proportion of female Striped Skunks in 56 communal dens in Alberta and adjacent Saskatchewan. the variation between observed and expected distri- butions. Juveniles might be more readily accepted into dens of reduced size. Denning Period Success of live-capture at sites of communal dens at Tofield increased from 69 and 124/1000 trap-nights in July and August, respectively, to 275 in September; skunks began to harvest vegetation around den entrances in late September, as observed by Sunquist (1974) in Minnesota. This seemed to represent a pre- denning activity as skunks were still free-ranging during September and October, as evidenced by success of night-lighted captures along roads (Gunson et al. 1978) and by live-capture success at non-denning sites at Tofield. Adult skunks likely began denning before juveniles. Night-lighted captures of free- ranging skunks during late September and October were highly biased towards juveniles (unpublished data), and mean distances of adult females from communal dens at Tofield during September and October were significantly (Student's t-test P< ) less than for juveniles. Live-capture at communal den sites was most successful in October (306/1000 trap- nights). Sunquist (1974) noted that juveniles were more active than adults in November and initiated winter denning an average of 7 d later than adults. In 1973 activities of skunks beyond the immediate vicinity of winter dens at Tofield were terminated by a 25-cm snowfall on 10 November. Observations at 10 occupied dens during winter 1971 -72 indicated that activity beyond a few metres of the den did not occur during early December to mid- February. A marked increase of activity was evident at six sites following a thaw on 12 February, with tracks leading from or to dens in
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