The ringtail prefers to live in rocky habitats associated with water. The ringtail also enjoys juniper, black berries, persimmon, prickly pear, and fruit in general. The ringtail eats insects, lizards, small rodents, birds, and small mammals such as rabbits, mice, rats and ground squirrels, and occasionally will also eat fish, snakes and carrion. Much like the common raccoon, the ringtail is nocturnal and mainly solitary. The eyes are large and purple, each surrounded by a patch of light fur. ![]() The ringtail is buff to dark brown in color with white under parts and a flashy black and white striped tail that has 14 -16 white and black stripes, and is longer than the rest of its body. Ringtails reach sexual maturity in both sexes near 10 months of age.The ringtail is a mammal of the raccoon family. Mom sometimes allows the father to play with with the young as they grow older. ![]() The female is mainly responsible for care, and forages with her young beginning when they are about two months old. The young can take solid food at 30 to 40 days of age and are weaned at about 10 weeks. Newborns are altricial (helpless and needing care), and they don’t open their eyes until around one month of age. Births usually occur in May or June, with a litter size ranging from one to four.įemales choose a den in a rock crevice, boulder pile, or tree hollow, in which they bear their young. The gestation period ranges from 51 to 54 days. Female ringtails experience a single estrous cycle in a season, usually mating from February to May. ![]() Not a lot is known about the ringtail’s mating habits, as they have not been observed to much extent. During the mating season, ringtails increase their marking activity to attract a mate and scare off competitors of the same sex. They scent mark their home range territory by rubbing urine on the ground and on raised objects. Scent seems to be as important as vocalizations for communication for ringtails. Adults can emit an explosive bark, a piercing scream, and a long, high-pitched call. Ringtails use a variety of vocalizations to get their point across. Rapid, headfirst, vertical descents are accomplished by rotating the hind foot 180 degrees, allowing the pads of the feet and the claws to retain contact with the surface.Ī lot to say. They can also climb in small crevices by pressing all four feet on one wall and their back against the other. They are excellent climbers, with several behavioral and physical adaptations: ringtails can maneuver along cliffs and ledges by ricocheting from wall to wall. Ringtails prefer habitats with rocky outcroppings, canyons, or talus slopes and can be found in semi-arid country, deserts, chaparral, oak woodlands, pinyon pine woodlands, juniper woodlands, and montane conifer forests. Ringtails’ feet sport short, straight, semi-retractable claws and digital foot pads surrounded by hair, except for the first digits. The body is buff to dark brown in color with white underparts and a well-defined black and white striped tail. The ringtail measures 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 centimeters) long with a tail of about the same length, and weighs less than 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). The eyes are large and black, each surrounded by a patch of light fur. ![]() Slimmer than a house cat but more robust than a weasel, the ringtail also somewhat resembles a small fox. Its cat-like appearance and famed mouse-hunting skills have earned it several common names, including ring-tail cat, civet cat, and miner’s cat (it reportedly kept gold miners’ quarters vermin-free). Drat, I'm not a cat! Even though this eye-catching omnivore sports a few vaguely feline characteristics such as pointy ears, a sleek body, and a fluffy tail, the ringtail is really a member of the raccoon family.
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