The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is looking for sightings of the eastern spotted skunk. The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius; a.k.a. "civet cat" or "polecat") was once common across the eastern United States. Today the species is rare and reasons for its decline are unclear. The purpose of this project is to collect sightings of the skunk by captures on game cameras, photographs of roadkilled animals, and incidental captures by trappers. This information will be used by state wildlife agencies and researchers to gain a better understanding of the species' current distribution and status.

Ways to Report

• Upload your observations to the Eastern Spotted Skunk project at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/eastern-spotted-skunk
• Email photographs with GPS latitude/longitude coordinates (smartphone photos are automatically tagged with this information) to katrina.morris@dnr.ga.gov