As I'm driving at dusk, a small creature darts across my path, not an uncommon occurrence. Its size and shape suggest a domesticated cat but the long narrow muzzle and distinctive whiskers look more like a fox. When it stops in the middle of the road to glare at me, masked eyes betray its raccoon affiliation. Whisking up a tree, it displays its final definitive characteristic: a fluffy black and white ringed tail.
The ringtail cat's various names reflect a hodgepodge of features. Though related to raccoons, the Latin name, Bassariscus astutus means 'clever little fox'. Easily domesticated, ringtails were kept as pets in goldminer's camps to control rodents earning them the name 'miner's cat'. The ringed tail is distinctive if you get a chance to see it but their secretive nature makes viewing rare.
Widely distributed throughout the southwest and Mexico, ringtail cats are listed as of Least Concern on the ICUN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) list. Why are ringtail cats so seldom seen when they are quite common?
Like the opossum, ringtails are nocturnal, an adaptation to the hot, dry climates they prefer. They have excellent eyesight and hearing, useful attributes for night hunting. During the heat of the day, they secret themselves away in rock crevices, hollow trees, logs, or beneath dense shrubs. As the fellow from my sighting demonstrated, they are adept climbers; they can rotate their hind paws 180 degrees to climb down a tree headfirst. Strong hind legs enable them to jump ten feet or more in a single bound.
Ringtails are solitary creatures, coming together only to mate. Usually mating from February to May, females give birth to two to four kits after a gestation of 51-54 days. The kits have no teeth and cannot see or hear. Once old enough, they are moved every few days to avoid predation. Although the male may remain in the area, the female cares for the young, weaning them after three to four months.
Ringtails are well suited to our arid summers, requiring very little water. Producing concentrated urine-—a higher urine concentration than any other carnivore—makes them super water conservationists. Their main diet consists of rodents and rabbits, more than plentiful in Bryson. They also eat birds, eggs, reptiles, fruits, nuts, and some carrion.
During the early years of fur trapping in the West, overhunting decimated ringtail populations. In response, the California Department of Fish and Game added ringtails to the state's list of fully protected species. Sadly, they can no longer be kept as pets, no matter how much I'd love one to police my outside pantry.
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