The chingue or skunk is a medium-sized carnivore, with black fur and a long tail with long fan-shaped hairs. It is characterized by presenting a white spot that runs along the back of the head all the way to the back.
It is distributed in southern Argentina and Chile, in a wide variety of environments that include prairies, scrublands, forests, and grasslands.
It is an omnivorous animal, but it has a marked preference for larvae and insects that it captures from the ground, which it digs with the long and powerful nails on its front legs. It prefers to inhabit open areas, grasslands, scrublands, and desert areas. It has odoriferous anal glands that emit a very bad-smelling liquid that they use to scare off their predators. It is a solitary and mainly nocturnal animal.
More information: https://inaturalist.mma.gob.cl/taxa/925950-Conepatus-chinga
Photo: Pía Vergara @piavergarafotografia
Text: Nicolás Lagos @nicolagos_s
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