Ring-tailed cat, miners cat, bassarisk, cacomistle; the ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) goes by many names. A ringtail by any name is just as cute.
As Rosemary Stussy, a retired Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist once put it, “on a scale of one to 10, their cuteness factor is a 15.”
“Cat” likely came into many of the common names for ringtails in part because ringtails are about the size of a house cat and in part because, as legend has it, gold rush era miners once enticed ringtails to live in their cabins as pet mousers.
But the ringtail is not a relative of the cat. And though its scientific name is based on an ancient Greek term for fox (βασσάρα), it is not a relative of the fox either. It is — as you may have guessed by the lovely long, ringed tail — more closely related to the raccoon. Both are members of the Procyonid family.
How to Spot a Ringtail
You may know ringtails as a desert southwest species (state mammal of Arizona), but ringtails have a much wider range. They can be found all the way up the west coast into southwestern Oregon and northeast as far as Oklahoma.
Ringtails are nocturnal, solitary, and sparsely populated throughout their range — factors that can make them a challenge to see in the wild. Watch for them at night in trees and shrubs near riparian areas (close to rivers and streams). Around February through May, when ringtails are breeding, you could catch sight of them during daylight hours.
![Ringtail in Arizona. Photo © Robertbody CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://blog.nature.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Squaw-ringtail-28073.jpg)
Your best chance of seeing ringtails is at parks and preserves in the U.S. Southwest. Campsites in Grand Canyon National Park are frequently raided by crafty ringtails. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is another ringtail hotspot. Arizona has many birding lodges that put up an array of feeders, and these can attract other wildlife including ringtails. This is how I saw my first ringtails recently near Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon (not to mention a coati and several bird species).
Though they are best known as shy creatures of forests, deserts and rocky areas, ringtails adapt well to living in disturbed areas and are frequently found near man-made buildings. You could have a ringtail living in your yard — they’ve rarely been known to show up in an attic.
“I found about six dens using radio-tracking equipment,” Stussy says. “None were up in trees. They were either down in a hole under a log or between boulders below the high-water mark of a lake – they would use the den in the summer when the water was low.”
If you can’t see a ringtail in the wild, it’s worth visiting a zoo to see one up close. The Oregon Zoo was home to ringtail kits last year.
Ringtail Tales
Ringtails are unusually carnivorous for a Procyonid. The bulk of their diet comes from animal matter (rodents, rabbits, squirrels, insects, birds, reptiles, frogs and carrion!). Ringtails do have a sweet tooth and eat fruit and nectar when available in the wild – Stussy attracted them to camera traps was with a mixture of raisins, jam, and a commercial “ringtail lure.”
Ringtails are sometimes prey to larger predators like great-horned owls, bobcats and coyotes.
When threatened the ringtail bristles the hair on its tail and arches it over its back to make itself appear larger (perhaps another reason for the cat comparison). As a final line of defense, ringtails will release a foul-smelling secretion and scream at a high pitch.
“They’re easily spooked,” says Stussy. “always jumping to the side. Their main predator is the great horned owl and I’ve seen video of a fisher making off with one in the snow. They have to watch out above and below.”
![Ringtail at Phantom Ranch, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Photo © Pixelfugue (Own work) CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://blog.nature.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/En_Ring-tailed_Cat.jpg)
Mammals from ringtails to lemurs to tigers have rings on their tails, but the evolutionary benefit of this trait is not fully understood. It is thought that arboreal, nocturnal mammals like the ringtail might use their tails for communication. Some also hypothesize that it is a kind of camouflage or at least a distraction so that if predators do attack a ringtail, they are more likely to catch the readily visible tail, missing vital organs and giving the ringtail a chance to escape.
Ringtails do posture with their tail. Stussy saw in camera trap footage that ringtails sometimes raise their tail like a skunk in what looks like an aggressive gesture or arch it prettily over their back.
“They use their tail like a squirrel for balancing,” Stussy explains. “They can climb like crazy.”
![This ringtail has found a good den spot in a tree. Photo © Daniel Neal, CC BY 2.0](https://blog.nature.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Bassariscus_astutus_ringtail-11297651994-1.jpg)
Ringtails are top notch acrobats. In addition to the help from their tails, they have semi-retractable claws to get a good grip on rocks or tree branches and their hind feet can rotate at least 180 degrees – allowing them to quickly climb head-first down trees and rock faces.
Other incredible climbing behaviors include “chimney stemming” (i.e. pressing their feet against one wall and their back against another like the Grinch climbing up a chimney), “ricocheting” like a video game character bouncing back and forth between more distant walls, and “power leaping” accurately across large distances.
Conservation Needs
The IUCN classifies ringtails as least concern for conservation because of their wide distribution and ability to adapt to human inhabited areas. However, there is limited information on population densities and trends across their range, which makes it difficult to assess conservation needs.
“What is their range? Is it expanding or contracting? It would take a lot of effort to find out. Their home ranges are very small,” Stussy explains. “It needs more work like a lot of things. I hate to think of ringtails going the way of the fisher and nobody’s even looking at them to know it.”
![ODFW biologist Rosemary Stussy takes measurements on a ringtail before fitting it with a radio collar. Photo © ODFW](https://blog.nature.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Stussy.jpg)
Efforts are underway in Oregon to improve methods of assessing ringtail density as part of the Oregon Conservation Strategy. Stussy’s research initiated an effort to create a consistent ringtail monitoring protocol for Oregon using camera traps. Progress has been slow in part because it is currently unclear whether a low number of sightings in an area is a sign that there are low numbers of ringtails or that the protocol has failed for some other reason (like bears stealing the ringtail bait).
“My work generated a lot of interest,” Stussy says. “One article in the newspaper led to about a hundred calls from people who wanted to report seeing them.”
One promising area for future ringtail research is citizen science. If citizens could capture an image of a ringtail and report the sighting to a centralized database, that would provide far more data for the range and abundance of ringtails in the US than biologists are currently able to capture on their own.
There is not yet, to my knowledge, a dedicated ringtail citizen science project. In the meantime, you can report your ringtail (and other nature) sightings to iNaturalist.
I have lived in Reno, NV since 1974 and have never heard of or seen ringtail cats until this summer. A month ago my neighbor saw 2 pair in different parts of the city. One pair she saw on our street. We live across the street from a good-sized pond which attracts a variety of wildlife so they found a good spot to live. We have seen 3 of them together on our security camera footage and last night I heard one barking. It will be fun having these new neighbors.
Are ringtail cats ever seen in North Carolina?
North Carolina is not part of their range. Perhaps you saw a small raccoon?
Matt
We accidentally caught a Ring Tail in our garage, we set up a live trap to catch a rat, it was set up for about 3 week, 2 nights ago we caught this animal. It seemed pretty calm. We let it go in our property that borders Jackson State Forest in Fort Bragg, CA in Mendocino County. We have a riparian area on our land. I hope he sticks around!
We saw one hiking up Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon at night in the summer of 2017. The animal was hanging out on a post and did not move when it saw us so we got a great look at it. We had no idea what we were looking at and researched it immediately. Finding out it was the state animal of Arizona embarrassed us but after reading this article I realize we were super lucky to see one in the wild. Thanks for the information!
My husband saw today three ringtails on our backyard and got kind of scared. They were peacefully seating next to our pool equipment in the remote section of the yard. Quite strange to see wildlife in rather busy neighborhood of Long Island very close to JFK airport.
We occasionally spotted raccoon and opossum, but not ringtails family.
Does the ringtail have retractable claws? Does it have 4 toes in front and 5 toes in back? Thanks!
I really wanted to see a ringtailed. Seeing your photos really was wonderful. Thank you!! Well in the real world I have been blessed. One has made a home in my attic!! I heard him jump down and I immediately opened the door as it scampered away very slowly. I would of thought it would of ran quickly away as I opened the front door. I smiled as it walked away. Maybe it needed a place to have a baby so, I hope it likes our home. I live in Northern California in a very quaint town called Scott Bar, Ca. I have been blessed!!! Good Luck on your project!
Couple of things: 1) my son had a ringtail stow away when he was canyoneering in southern Utah last spring, not realizing till he got home to Boulder, Colorado. Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife interviewed him for a story the ran in the July/August issue of Colorado Outdoors. I’ll send you the story if you’ll provide an email so I can attach it.
2) I’m working on a piece for a writing contest which requires using the collective noun for a group of animals – but I can’t track down the name of a group of ringtails (tho I understand they are somewhat solitary – maybe they don’t have a group name?) – if you know their group name, please share that with me!
Saw one run across the road and we got a good look at him when he went up the bank on the side of the road. Never knew we had such a creature here in San Diego, this was on Boulder Creek Rd between mile marker 4-5. We couldnt believe what we saw and we got home looked it up on the net, probably never see one again.
hi, I’m from Tasmania and have just seen a creature similar to these on a program. However, there were differences. The animal similar to our possum or these ringtails had almost snow leopard type markings. Can you shed some light as to the animals species. I’d appreciate it cheers.
Hi Elisha… was the program on Australian wildlife? The only possum-like Aussie mammal that I can think of with “snow leopard type” markings would be the common spotted cuscus!
I saw 2 of these in Southern Il. Marion Ill. in Sept. we live on 14 acres.
I work for the Army Corps of Engineers at Cochiti Lake in New Mexico. The Ring-tail cat is one of our native species here at the campsites. I haven’t seen any, but campers have described encounters with them to me. I am looking forward to seeing them.
Dec 31, 2017. Just saw what I believe to be a ringtail cat in my yard. At approximately 9 PM there was a noise on my back deck. I went out with a spotlight and saw it. This was in the Lake Royale community near Bunn, NC.
I have a ringtail in my yard in Tubac AZ. He is so cute. I put out some blueberries for him,is that a good thing?? I know we should not feed wild animals,but he is so cute. How do I encourage him to stay around?
Hi Susan, I couldn’t find any information specific to ringtails, but from what I know more broadly, I would suggest creating habitat in your yard that’s attractive to ringtails. You might try joining Habitat Network, formerly Yardmap (http://content.yardmap.org/ ) and asking around the forums if anyone in your area has experience of what kinds of plants or features you might introduce that a ringtail would be attracted to.
Are they in Texas? One night about two years ago, I was out driving and slammed my breaks because I thought I had just seen a ring-tailed lemur on the side of the road….by the time I turned around it was gone. I live in a small town west of San Antonio Texas.
Absolutely, that’s probably what you saw. There’s a range map in the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring-tailed_cat