# skunks unhibernating **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunks-unhibernating/157638 "2003-02-26T15:00:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunks-unhibernating/157638/1 "2003-02-26T15:00:37Z")
Can skunks unhibernate? The other night , while in the bathroom, I smelled the unmistakble smell of skunk spray. No, the bathroom window isn’t as closed well as the others, thats why. Was it really a skunk? Its been horribly cold here for the past 2 months. They wouldn’t find anything to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunks-unhibernating/157638/2 "2003-02-26T15:32:05Z")
Lots of mammals _unhibernate_ - some who did not fatten up enough before hand. Or climatic changes have influence. Why Mrs. Phlosphr and I saw a Bear in New Hampshire just this past weekend. I’ve seen opossums already this season, so if a possum can _unhibernate_ then I am sure the skunk you smelled can… ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunks-unhibernating/157638/3 "2003-02-27T00:03:00Z")
Skunks don’t really hibernate, in the sense of sleeping all winter long. Neither do bears, for that matter. They do enter a state of relative dormancy for long periods, but they will occasionally get up to forage around. They can also wake up pretty fast if disturbed. Opossums don’t hibernate much at all, though I think some Southern Hemisphere possums do. True hibernation involves an extreme drop in heart rate, body temperature, and respiration. Some examples are groundhogs, ground squirrels and bats. These guys don’t wake up so easily. ---
**Author:** ![3.885AM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/58956e/32.png) [@3.885AM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3.885AM)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunks-unhibernating/157638/4 "2003-02-27T01:01:29Z")
This is also the breading season. We regularly see them by the side of the roads. As is the case with our own species, the sex drive often leads to risky behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skunks-unhibernating/157638/5 "2003-02-27T04:20:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bbbill \* > This is also the breading season. We regularly see them by the side of the roads. As is the case with our own species, the sex drive often leads to risky behavior. As opposed to what? The casserole season? I know you’d _like_ to have sex Pepe but that deep fryer is just too darn close for comfort.