Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) Home Range and Oral Rabies Vaccine Bait Distribution in West Virginia, USA

Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) has successfully prevented appreciable spread of the raccoon rabies virus variant (RRVV) west of the Appalachian Mountains in the US. However, local and regional elimination of RRVV has been challenging, particularly in areas of the eastern US with routine spillover transmission to striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) populations. We used rabies antibody seroprevalence monitoring data from two ORV baiting strategies, a 75 baits/km2 applied from 2012 to 2013 and a 300 baits/km2 applied from 2014 to 2016, in West Virginia, US, and home range estimates on the basis of data from striped skunks collared with a global positioning system in 2014 and 2015, to identify factors influencing skunk home range size and movements with respect to land cover classes and to compare the efficiency of hypothetical aerial ORV baiting scenarios that may improve bait uptake by skunks and increase post-ORV rabies antibody seroprevalence. When baits were deployed in late August, the mean core and overall skunk home ranges were 0.135 km2 (±0.086 km2 SD) and 0.648 km2 (±0.400 km2 SD), respectively. Skunks preferred, and maintained smaller home ranges in, pasture and had larger home ranges in deciduous-mixed forest. The ORV baiting scenarios that we explored varied in bait density, flight-line spacing between baiting transects, and flight patterns followed to deliver baits. Bait density was the most important factor that we identified; higher bait density increased predicted seroprevalence and possible bait uptake. The crisscross flight pattern compared with the parallel pattern had higher costs without a substantial increase in hypothetical bait uptake. This research provides insight into skunk ecology in a rural area of the eastern US and how various aerial baiting strategies might influence the efficiency and effectiveness of ORV related to skunks.