Ringtail, North American 16"L

4009,  North American Ringtail, They have a long tail with alternating bands of white and black fur. They have large eyes surrounded by white rings of fur, large rounded ears, short legs and a long grayish colored body. Ringtail are excellent climbers capable of ascending vertical walls, trees, rocky cliffs and even cacti.

The ringtail is a small carnivore belonging to the raccoon family, about the same size as a domestic cat and looking like a small fox with a tail like a raccoon. It seems perfectly designed as a climbing animal for exploiting the desert’s ledges, cracks, and vertical cliffs. Their long tail provides them with balance for negotiating limbs and narrow ledges, and they can even reverse direction by doing a cartwheel. They are able to rotate their back feet 180 degrees, providing them with purchase for the rapid descent of cliffs, trees, or cacti. In addition, ringtails can go up narrow passages by “stemming,” which is pressing all four feet on one wall with their back against the opposite wall or pressing both their right feet against one wall and both their left feet against the other and managing wider openings or cracks by ricocheting between the two walls.

The ringtail is widespread and common across southern North America and Mexico. It can be found in Oaxaca in southern Mexico and the desert area of Baja California, and also on the islands of Tiburón, Espíritu Santo, and San José in the Gulf of California. Ringtails also occur throughout the southwestern United States, from California and Oregon to Texas. They inhabit a range of habitats, such as semi-arid oak forest, juniper and pinyon pine forest, conifer forest, montane (forest in mountains) chaparral (scrub habitat with mostly thorny, evergreen shrubs), and desert. Ringtails also prefer rocky habitats associated with water, such as the riparian canyons, caves, or mine shafts. They adapt well also to disturbed areas and often are found inside buildings.

Ringtails are omnivores, eating both animal and plant material. They eat small rodents, squirrels, rabbits, insects, and even animals that are dead. They may eat juniper berries, persimmons, hackberry, prickly pear cacti, acorns, and other fruits and berries.

Ringtail are said to be easily tamed / habituated to humans, and can make an affectionate pet and effective mouser. Miners and settlers once kept pet ringtails to keep their cabins free of vermin; hence, the common name of "miner's cat".

• The name "ringtail" is from the seven or so black rings on the tail of the animal.
• Ringtails sometimes were kept in the homes of early settlers in America and in prospectors' camps as mousers and companions, hence its name "miner's cat." They are said to make reasonably good pets if they are caught while young.
• In Mexico, "cacomistles" is a name that is often used for this animal, derived from the Aztec language. In Spanish, it has the meaning of "nimble thief".
• The ringtail’s scientific name means “cunning little fox”.
• Ringtails don't need to drink often and can survive for long periods on water derived from food alone.

Product Dimension: 15.35(L) X 7.48(W) X 7.09(H)

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