摘要：The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) is a small carnivore found across much ofthe central and southeastern
United States, and while once common, this species has become rare in most ofits range. We used harvest records collected by the
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from 1941-2004 to examine historic and current distribution and long-term harvest dynamics
of this species inArkansas. Eastern spotted skunks have historically been most common inthe Ozarks and the Ouachitas though the
species appears tohave been present, but uncommon, in the GulfCoastal Plain and in some counties insoutheastern Arkansas near the
Mississippi River. Annual harvests declined precipitously during the 1940s and 1950s, from >1,800 animals in 1942 to <10% ofthat
number by 1958. During the early 1960s and especially during the late 1970s, there were multi-year increases in the harvest that cooccurred withincreases inpelt price. However, across the broader period used for data analyses, pelt price alone was a poor predictor of
harvest. Harvest was best predicted by the number offurbuyers inthe state, which likelycorrelates withthe number oftrappers. Bythe
mid-1980s annual harvests dropped to<50/year, a level at which they have since remained. While harvest levels for spotted skunks in
Arkansas were considerably lower than other midwestern states, trends inboth annual harvests as wellas demand for pelts (as assessed
by pelt price) are closely correlated withthose in other states.
