#putois

idk i looked up Polecat (putois actually) and it showed many many pictures of Skunks smh (somehow),,,,

Polecat (Putois) look incredibly similar to a Ferret (Furet), they could also be compared to a Marten (Martre) or a Weasel (Belette), as they have similar features (they are from the same family after all; Mustelidae)

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In comparison, Skunks (mouffette) are a part of the Mephitidae family. Sub-species include; Conepatus, Mephitis, Mydaus and Spilogale.

This is a Mephitis, the "common" skunk:

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They have completely different bones structures:

Polecat ("common");

Skunk (Mephitis "common");

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Their coat:

Polecat (Putois): there is a type of Polecat that look similar to a Skunk (Mouffette), such as the Stripped Polecat, also called the Zorilla (Zorille), usually a Polecat's coat is brown-ish (as seen in the first picture of this post)

Skunk (Mouffette): Skunks are always black and white (the black can be replaced by brown), usually with two stripes down the middle (though it may vary to spots or a single line depending on which sub-species you find, to the left is a Spilogale, and to the right is a Mydaus), which is completely different from a Zorilla, who will have 3+ stripes

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Still confused because "WAIT THERE'S STRIPPED POLECATS????"

an other trick to differentiate them is their face marks:

Polecat (Putois "Stripped"): They literally have eyebrows

Skunks (Mephitis "Common"): Their face is split into two by a single line

Skunk (Spilogale "Spotted"): their face markings looks very similar to the Polecat, but their coat is very unique

Skunk (Conepatus (very similar to Mephitis)): cant put any more pictures but it kind of looks like they have halo/crown from the front and no face marks

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Their tails:

this is a generalisation, but often, a Skunk has a "poofier" tail than a Polecat (who usually has a slim tail).

A skunk (Mephitis & Conepatus) is fuller, it has more fur than a Polecat.

Whilst a polecat can have a poofy tail, it usually looks devoid of fur, very skrunkly looking:

Compare it to the first skunk picture and you'll get it (i am reaching the picture limit,,,)

As for the other two skunk sub-species:

Spilogale ("Spotted"): their tails looks very similar to a Polecat's, but as seen before, their coat is very unique, Polecats do not have that variation

Mydaus ("Single-line" or as a lot of ppl i talked to have called them; "rat"): What tail? it's so tiny you can barely see it,,,

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