The Channel Islands spotted skunk, Santa Rosa Island spotted skunk, or island spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis amphiala) is a subspecies of North American skunk about which little is known. It is native to just three islands off the coast of Southern California (Santa Rosa Island, Santa Cruz Island and San Miguel Island), and may be extinct on one (San Miguel). It is designated as a species of special concern by the state of California.
Famous quotes containing the words channel, islands, spotted and/or skunk:
“Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“we are so many
and many within themselves
travel to far islands but no one
asks for their story....”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Two feathered guests from Alabama, two together,
And their nest, and four light-green eggs spotted with brown,
And every day the he-bird to and fro near at hand,
And every day the she-bird crouched on her nest, silent, with bright
eyes,
And every day I, a curious boy, never too close, never disturbing
them,
Cautiously peering, absorbing, translating.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“But he sent her Good-by,
And said to be good,
And wear her red hood,
And look for skunk tracks
In the snow with an ax—
And do everything!”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)