{"id":141774,"date":"2025-03-18T02:25:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T07:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=141774"},"modified":"2025-07-11T14:06:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T19:06:53","slug":"foraging-striped-skunk-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/18\/foraging-striped-skunk-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Foraging Striped Skunk At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, Steve Creek<\/span><\/a> and I found a Striped Skunk in a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, and we both jumped out of his truck to take photos.<\/p>\n

\"StripedStriped Skunk in a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 800, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 371mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

We both noticed right away that the skunk had variant coat colors, there was a rich, almost cinnamon-brown coloration on their back near the tail, where Striped Skunks are typically black. The tail also caught our eyes and wasn\u2019t quite typical.<\/p>\n

\"StripedStriped Skunk walking on a gravel road \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

We also both noticed that the skunk’s left eye appeared to have a milky-looking cataract.<\/p>\n

Our friend Bret drove up and stood a distance behind us to photograph the skunk and said he was ready to photograph us if<\/em> we had gotten sprayed. When he told Steve and me that, we all laughed.<\/p>\n

I should mention that the skunk never showed any signs of being alarmed or uncomfortable with us around.<\/p>\n

While the skunk was on the road, it looked like it might walk right up to Steve.<\/p>\n

\"StripedStriped Skunk walking towards me \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, the Striped Skunk turned and headed back toward the field and didn\u2019t spray any of us! I can\u2019t imagine what it would have been like to ride an hour in Steve\u2019s pickup if either or both of us had gotten sprayed!<\/p>\n

\"StripedStriped Skunk with variant coat colors \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 800, +0.3 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 340mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a bit sad when we realized this skunk was missing its right eye, there was just an empty socket in its place.<\/p>\n

Despite that, its ability to survive with one missing eye and impaired vision in the other says a lot about its resilience. Skunks rely heavily on their sense of smell and hearing to navigate and forage, so it\u2019s possible it has adapted well its eye conditions.<\/p>\n

This was the first time I\u2019ve had an opportunity to photograph a skunk at the refuge, and I had fun taking these images.<\/p>\n

Life is good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view my Striped Skunk photo gallery plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, Steve Creek and I found a Striped Skunk in a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, and we both jumped out of his truck to take photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13973,13974,13788],"tags":[4004,14190,13984,1124,3747,6790,13791,4784,14021,2326,14020,6832,13792,13790,16303,16304,4236,373],"class_list":["post-141774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","category-striped-skunks","tag-adult","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-field","tag-grass","tag-gravel","tag-mephitis-mephitis","tag-mustelids","tag-oklahoma","tag-road","tag-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-skunk","tag-skunks","tag-striped-skunk","tag-variant-coat","tag-variant-colors","tag-walking","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/striped-skunk-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-8473.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ASG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":111786,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/29\/striped-skunk-butt-skunked-by-the-weather-forecast\/","url_meta":{"origin":141774,"position":0},"title":"Striped Skunk Butt – Skunked By The Weather Forecast","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I was skunked by a terribly wrong weather forecast so I decided this was the day that I would share one of my Striped Skunk photos taken last year.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Striped Skunk butt, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/striped-skunks-butt-mia-mcpherson-3792.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/striped-skunks-butt-mia-mcpherson-3792.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/striped-skunks-butt-mia-mcpherson-3792.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/striped-skunks-butt-mia-mcpherson-3792.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":131437,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/07\/28\/differential-and-two-striped-grasshopper-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":141774,"position":1},"title":"Differential And Two-striped Grasshopper Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Let's hop right into the photos I am sharing today! I took Differential and Two-striped Grasshopper images while walking around Sequoyah NWR with Steve Creek.","rel":"","context":"In "Differential Grasshoppers"","block_context":{"text":"Differential Grasshoppers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/differential-grasshoppers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mating Differential Grasshoppers at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/differential-grasshoppers-mia-mcpherson-5933.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/differential-grasshoppers-mia-mcpherson-5933.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/differential-grasshoppers-mia-mcpherson-5933.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/differential-grasshoppers-mia-mcpherson-5933.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141906,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/03\/23\/nine-banded-armadillo-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":141774,"position":2},"title":"Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Photographing a Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday was one of the highlights of a morning well spent at the refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Mexican Long-nosed Armadillos"","block_context":{"text":"Mexican Long-nosed Armadillos","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/mexican-long-nosed-armadillos\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo in a field at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/nine-banded-armadillo-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/nine-banded-armadillo-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/nine-banded-armadillo-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/nine-banded-armadillo-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-0109.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115056,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/08\/fun-photographing-a-road-crossing-crawdad-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":141774,"position":3},"title":"Fun Photographing A Road-Crossing Crawdad At Sequoyah NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Some experiences in the field almost feel like tall tales when I try to write about them. This road-crossing crawdad story from Sequoyah NWR is one of those.","rel":"","context":"In "Crawdads"","block_context":{"text":"Crawdads","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/crawdads\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Crawdad at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/crawdad-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-073344.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/crawdad-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-073344.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/crawdad-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-073344.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/crawdad-sequoyah-NWR-mia-mcpherson-073344.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140782,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/25\/an-immature-sandhill-crane-visits-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":141774,"position":4},"title":"An Immature Sandhill Crane Visits Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days ago, I was lucky enough to photograph an uncommon visitor to Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge\u2014an immature Sandhill Crane I spotted in a field.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature Sandhill Crane at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sandhill-crane-immature-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-4808.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":140218,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/02\/18\/two-wintertime-views-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":141774,"position":5},"title":"Two Wintertime Views At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent the morning at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, and I have to say, the sunrise was simply glorious. It was pretty cold, too.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Reeve's Slough wintertime view with ducks too, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/sequoyah-nwr-winter-scenic-mia-mcpherson-C3235.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}