Why are black bears, raccoons, and striped skunks less likely to defend territories?

While many carnivorous mammals establish territories to secure exclusive access to resources, omnivorous carnivores such as black bears, raccoons, and striped skunks are less likely to do so.1

The decision to defend a territory is based on an economic balance between the costs of defense and the benefits gained. Territoriality is favored only when resources are economically defendable—meaning the benefits of restricting access outweigh the energy expended to keep out intruders and the potential risks of combat.23

For these omnivorous species, the distribution and quality of their food sources likely make the high costs of aggressive territorial defense unnecessary or impractical. When resources are widely dispersed, of low quality, or too abundant to monopolize, the benefit of exclusivity decreases, leading animals to abandon territorial behavior. Consequently, these species often operate within a more fluid system of space use rather than maintaining strictly defended, exclusive boundaries.231