Ring-tailed Cat Information
Ring-tailed cats are small carnivorous mammals, about the size of a house cat, that inhabit western and southwestern North America from Oregon to Mexico and as far east as Kansas. Despite a resemblance to felines, ringtails belong to the same family as raccoons.
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Distinguishing Biological Features
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Named for their excessively long, strikingly marked tails, ringtails are superb climbers. Their biology has changed so little since the Neogene Period that they are sometimes called "living fossils."
Behavior and Diet
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Ringtails prey on mice. Ringtails are shy, solitary, nocturnal animals that eat a wide variety of foods, including rodents, birds, insects and lizards as well as berries, nuts and fruit.
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Predators
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Large owls prey on ringtails. Ringtails are preyed on by other nocturnal hunters, such as coyotes, foxes, owls and bobcats. According to the Journal of the American Society of Mammalogists, they are often killed by traps set to catch other fur-bearing animals.
Miner's Cats
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Miners and other settlers tamed ringtails to serve as ratters. Nineteenth-century miners kept ringtails as pets and ratters, giving them the common name of miner's cats. When raised from birth, ringtails are reputed to make good pets.
Life Expectancy
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The average life expectancy of a wild ring-tailed cat is approximately seven years. The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database reports a wild-born captive female ringtail that reached the age of 19.
Facts
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The Latin scientific name of the ringtail, Bassariscus astutus, translates as "cunning little fox." The ringtail is the state mammal of Arizona.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Kevin Walsh Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Reg Mckenna Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of John Haslam Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Tony Oliver
