Animal Tracks - Ringtail



Natural History of Ringtails
The ringtail is commonly called the ringtail cat, but it is not a cat. It has also been called miner’s cat, coon cat, cacomistle, or civet cat. Ringtails are related to raccoons. This nocturnal animal is very secretive and seldom seem. It has a fox-like face and a ringed tail like a raccoon. The ringtail’s tail is longer than that of the raccoon. It has large eyes that help it see well at night. Ringtails are very agile and have sharp claws which enable them to climb trees and even scale walls. They hunt by night, pouncing on their prey from ambush. The ringtail primarily eats small rodents, but will also consume fruit, berries, small animals, bats, birds, insects, and acorns. Ringtails spend the day in a den which is often lined with soft moss, leaves, or grass. Young, usually two to four per litter, are born in May or June. Their eyes do not open for 30 days. Parents bring them food in the nest. Tracks show five toes on the front foot and five toes on the hind foot. Claws do not usually show in the tracks.

A perfect ringtail track from a sooted bait station. This is made by using an aluminum plate coated with soot and contact paper to gather the tracks. It's a great method to survey for wildlife and is being used more commonly by wildlife scientists now.

A bunch of ringtail tracks from a soot plate. These were found as part of a study trying to determine presence or absence of fishers in the park where I worked. The fishers were not found, but many other species left tracks on the plates!


A beautiful ringtail track from a sooted bait plate. Notice the details of the toes include whorls on the toe pads and heel pad. Just like your own fingerprints!


The right hind foot of a ringtail. I found this ringtail as a roadkill in the middle of the highway. Rather than letting it go to waste, I took photos of its feet to use for educational purposes. The ringtail was then buried.


The left front foot of a ringtail. There is an additional pad on the front foot called the carpal pad. This sometimes shows up in the tracks. The claws of a ringtail do not reliably register in tracks. Look for them, but don't use them as the only clue to guide your identification of a track.


Ringtail feet show whorls, just like humans have on their fingertips and palms. Can you identify an individual ringtail by the whorl patterns? I don't know the answer to that question. It will require more research.


Ringtail left front foot from roadkilled animal


Ringtail left hind foot from roadkilled animal


Ringtail right front foot from roadkilled animal


Ringtail right hind foot from roadkilled animal


Ringtail track in mud


Personal Notes on Ringtails

I once saw two very small ringtails in a tree in Albee Creek Campground. They were out there at night and I was leading a group on a hike. It was a real treat to see these very elusive animals up close. It was likely a pair of young. When I worked at the Grand Canyon many years ago, the ringtails would get into the storage room at the El Tovar lodge and get into the cookies, candy and chips. In the morning, I would find their tracks all over the place in the dust on the shelves, even in chocolate on the packages they'd gotten into! Apparently, they like junk food as much as we do!

Many years ago, I worked at the Grand Canyon in the El Tovar Hotel. We had a basement storeroom where all the merchandise was stored, including all the candy. The ringtails would get inside that basement at night and eat whatever they wanted. They seemed to prefer the expensive imported chocolates! I would find their tracks on the dusty shelves each morning.

Ringtail
Bassariscus astutus

1 - 1 3/4 in. L x 11/16 - 1 5/16 in. W	15/16 - 1 3/8 in. L x 3/4 - 1 1/8 in. W
Ringtail Tracks