February 2015 - the Ring Tailed Cat
The ring-tailed cat is actually not a cat, but a member of the raccoon family. They are buff or dark brown in color, with white undersides and a black and white striped tail with 14-16 stripes encircling the tail. They are smaller than a house cat and weigh only 1 ½ to just over 3 pounds.
Their ankle joint is flexible, rotating 180 degrees, which makes it an agile climber. They prefer to live in rocky habitats associated with water such as riparian canyons, caves and mines.
Like the raccoon, the ringtail is a nocturnal animal, timid towards humans and rarely seen. But, here in the gold county, they were tamed by miners. The miners started to keep these as pets to keep the cabin free of vermin. A small hole would be cut in a box set near the stove as a warm place for the ringtail to spend the day. Then at night, they would rid the cabin of mice and other vermin.
They eat small vertebrates such as birds, rats, mice, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, berries and insects. By limiting our use of pesticides and herbicides, we can allow this native species to help keep nature in balance
Their ankle joint is flexible, rotating 180 degrees, which makes it an agile climber. They prefer to live in rocky habitats associated with water such as riparian canyons, caves and mines.
Like the raccoon, the ringtail is a nocturnal animal, timid towards humans and rarely seen. But, here in the gold county, they were tamed by miners. The miners started to keep these as pets to keep the cabin free of vermin. A small hole would be cut in a box set near the stove as a warm place for the ringtail to spend the day. Then at night, they would rid the cabin of mice and other vermin.
They eat small vertebrates such as birds, rats, mice, snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, berries and insects. By limiting our use of pesticides and herbicides, we can allow this native species to help keep nature in balance