Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Bas­sariscus as­tu­tus can be found from south­west­ern Ore­gon and east­ern Kansas south through Cal­i­for­nia, south­ern Nevada, Utah, Col­orado, Ari­zona, New Mex­ico, Oak­la­homa, Texas, Baja Cal­i­for­nia and north­ern Mex­ico. Out­ly­ing records in Arkansas, Louisiana, Al­abama, and Ohio are likely the re­sult of a ring­tail habit of board­ing rail­road cars and being trans­planted as a re­sult (Nowak, 1999).

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic
  • native

Habi­tat

Ring­tails can be found at el­e­va­tions of up to 2900 m but are most com­mon at el­e­va­tions rang­ing from sea level to 1400 m. Ring­tails uti­lize a va­ri­ety of habi­tats. They pre­fer habi­tats with rocky out­crop­pings, canyons, or talus slopes and can be found in semi-arid coun­try, deserts, chap­ar­ral, oak wood­lands, pinyon pine wood­lands, ju­niper wood­lands and mon­tane conifer forests. They also in­habit ri­par­ian habi­tats due to the in­creased food avail­abil­ity (Poglayen-Neuwall, 1988; 1990).

• Habitat Regions
• temperate
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• desert or dune
• chaparral
• forest
• scrub forest
• mountains

• Other Habitat Features
• riparian

• Range elevation

  0 to 2900 m

  0.00 to 9514.44 ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Body mass of both sexes from through­out the ge­o­graphic range of Bas­sariscus as­tu­tus ranges from 824 to 1,338 g. Head and body length is 305 to 420 mm and tail length is 310 to 441 mm. Shoul­der height is about 160 mm. The upper body is buffy in color with a dark brown wash, and the un­der­parts are a pale buff. The tail is bushy and has black and white rings (hence the com­mon name of the species), much like a rac­coon. The eyes are ringed by black or dark brown and set within buffy patches. The body is cat-like with a fox-like face and large oval ears. The claws of these an­i­mals are semi-re­tractable. The den­tal for­mula is: i 3/4, c 1/1, p 3/4, m 3/2 for a total of 40 teeth. The ca­nines are well de­vel­oped (Nowak, 1999; Poglayen-Neuwal, 1988).

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• homoiothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

• Range mass

  824 to 1,338 g

  29.04 to oz

• Range length

  305 to 420 mm

  12.01 to 16.54 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

The mat­ing sys­tem of these pro­cy­onids has not been re­ported.

Fe­male ring­tails are un­dergo a sin­gle es­trous cycle in a sea­son, usu­ally mat­ing from Feb­ru­ary to May. Heat usu­ally lasts from 24 to 36 hours. The ges­ta­tion pe­riod is short among the Pro­cy­onidae, and ranges from 51 to 54 days. Birth usu­ally oc­curs in May or June with a lit­ter size rang­ing from one to four.

Fe­males choose a den in a rock crevice, boul­der pile, or tree hol­low in which they bear their young. New­borns are al­tri­cial with a mass of 25 g. Neonates open their eyes around one month of age. The young can take solid food at 30 to 40 days of age and are weaned at about 10 weeks. The fe­male is mainly re­spon­si­ble for care, and for­ages with her young be­gin­ning when they are about 2 months old. The fa­ther is some­times tol­er­ated and may play with the young as they grow older. Ring­tails reach sex­ual ma­tu­rity in both sexes near 10 months of age (Poglayen-Neuwall, 1990).

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• viviparous

• Breeding season

  Breeding season occurs from February to May.

• Range number of offspring

  1 to 5

• Average number of offspring

  3

  AnAge

• Range gestation period

  51 to 54 days

• Average weaning age

  10 weeks

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  10 months

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
  Sex: female

  300 days

  AnAge

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  10 months

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
  Sex: male

  300 days

  AnAge

Fe­males are known to care for the young. They nurse the young for 10-12 weeks, and allow the young to ac­com­pany them when they for­age. Males have been known to play with older off­spring, and so may play some role in parental care, al­though no more than this has been doc­u­mented. (Nowak, R., 1999)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

The life ex­pectancy of ring­tails is about 7 years in the wild. A fe­male kept in cap­tiv­ity reached the age of 16 (Poglayen-Neuwall 1988).

• Range lifespan
  Status: captivity

  16 (high) years

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  7 years

• Average lifespan
  Status: captivity

  14.3 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  16.0 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Be­hav­ior

Ring­tail ac­tiv­ity oc­curs mostly at night and oc­ca­sion­ally at dusk. Much of its time is spent for­ag­ing for food. After feed­ing, a ring­tail grooms it­self while sit­ting on its hindquar­ters in a man­ner sim­i­lar to that of a cat. A ring­tail licks its fur and forepaws, which it then uses to wipe its cheeks, snout and ears.

Bas­sariscus as­tu­tus is an ex­cel­lent climber with sev­eral be­hav­ioral and phys­i­cal lo­co­mo­tory adap­ta­tions. Ring­tails can ma­neu­ver quickly and ag­ilely among cliffs and ledges by ri­cho­chet­ing from wall to wall. They can also climb in small crevices by chim­ney stem­ming (press­ing all four feet on one wall and the back against the other). Rapid, head­first, ver­ti­cal de­scents are ac­com­plished by ro­tat­ing the hind­foot 180 de­grees, al­low­ing the pads of the feet and the claws to re­tain con­tact with the sub­strate.

The ring­tail is soli­tary ex­cept dur­ing the mat­ing sea­son. Home ranges can be up to 136 ha de­pend­ing on the avail­abil­ity of food and cover. Males gen­er­ally have larger home ranges than fe­males and home ranges of same-sex ring­tails do not over­lap (Trapp, 1972; Nowak, 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall, 1988;1990).

• Key Behaviors
• terricolous
• nocturnal
• crepuscular
• motile
• sedentary
• solitary

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Ring­tails have a va­ri­ety of vo­cal­iza­tions. Adults can emit an ex­plo­sive bark, a pierc­ing scream, and a long, high-pitched call. In­fants vo­cal­ize with metal­lic chirps, squeaks, and wim­pers. Scent seems to be as im­por­tant as vo­cal­iza­tions for com­mu­ni­ca­tion within the species. B. as­tu­tus scent marks its home range ter­ri­tory by rub­bing urine on the ground and on raised ob­jects. Dur­ing the mat­ing sea­son, ring­tails in­crease their mark­ing ac­tiv­ity to at­tract a mate and deter com­peti­tors of the same sex (Nowak, 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall, 1988). It is likely that there is tac­tile com­mu­ni­ca­tion be­tween a mother and her off­spring, as well as be­tween mates.

• Communication Channels
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

• Other Communication Modes
• scent marks

• Perception Channels
• tactile
• chemical

Food Habits

Ring­tails are om­niv­o­rous, but show a di­etary pref­er­ence for an­i­mal mat­ter. Spe­cific di­etary items are largely se­lected as a func­tion of their sea­sonal abun­dance. Prin­ci­pal an­i­mal mat­ter food items in­clude ro­dents, rab­bits, squir­rels, and in­sects, how­ever, birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, and car­rion are also eaten. Plant mat­ter eaten in­cludes acorns, mistle­toe, ju­niper berries, per­sim­mons, wild figs and other fruits. When avail­able, B. as­tu­tus will also feed on nec­tar (Poglayen-Neuwall 1988,1990; Kuban and Schwartz, 1985).

• Primary Diet
• omnivore

• Animal Foods
• birds
• mammals
• amphibians
• reptiles
• carrion
• insects

• Plant Foods
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• fruit
• flowers

Pre­da­tion

When threat­ened, a ring­tail will bris­tle the hair on its tail, arch­ing the tail over its back to­wards its head, and thereby mak­ing it­self ap­pear larger. If cap­tured, it screams a high pitched, pen­e­trat­ing sound and dis­charges a pun­gent, foul smelling se­cre­tion from the anal glands (Poglayen-Neuwall 1988,1990).

• Known Predators

  • great horned owls (Bubo virginianus)
  • coyotes (Canis latrans)
  • bobcats (Lynx rufus)

Ecosys­tem Roles

An im­por­tant mid-size car­ni­vore, the ring­tail can help keep ro­dent pop­u­la­tions under con­trol.

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Ring­tails are some­times har­vested for their fur, how­ever, the coat is not of a very high qual­ity and is gen­er­ally used as trim only. In the 1976-77 trap­ping sea­son, the United States pro­duced 88,329 pelts, which sold for an av­er­age price of $5.50. The har­vest of these an­i­mals peaked at about 135,000 in 1978-79 and has since de­clined. In the 1991-92 sea­son only 5,638 skins were taken, and their av­er­age price was$3.62. Al­though ring­tails now have pro­tec­tion in many states, many fall vic­tim to traps set for other furbear­ing an­i­mals (Nowak, 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall, 1988).

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Ring­tails cause lit­tle eco­nomic dam­age. Oc­ca­sional do­mes­tic poul­try are taken and an oc­ca­sional or­chard tree is plun­dered (Nowak, 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall, 1988).

• Negative Impacts
• crop pest

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

This species has no spe­cial con­ser­va­tion sta­tus.

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• US Migratory Bird Act

  No special status

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

Other Com­ments

Liv­ing Bas­sariscus species are hardly dishtin­guish­able from Neocene forms. Hence, ring­tails are some­times called liv­ing fos­sils. The sci­en­tific name, Bas­sariscus as­tu­tus, is de­rived from bas­sar (fox), isc (lit­tle), and astut (cun­ning), cun­ning lit­tle fox. In Mex­ico, ring­tails are often called "ca­comis­tles" de­rived from the lan­guage of the Aztecs. In span­ish, it means "nim­ble thief". Ring­tails were some­times kept about the homes of early Amer­i­can set­tlers and in prospec­tors' camps as com­pan­ions and mousers, hence the name "miner's cat." They are re­ported to make fairly good pets if ob­tained while young. (Nowak, R., 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall, I, 1990; Poglayen-Neuwall,I., 1988)

Con­trib­u­tors

Jef­frey Gold­berg (au­thor), Hum­boldt State Uni­ver­sity, Brian Ar­bo­gast (ed­i­tor), Hum­boldt State Uni­ver­sity.

Ref­er­ences

Kuban,J., S. 1985. Nec­tar as a diet item of the ring­tail cat. South­west­ern Nat­u­ral­ist, 30(2): 311-312.

Nowak, R., 1999. Walker's Mam­mals of the World, Vol 1. Bal­ti­more: Johns Hop­kins Uni­ver­sity Press.

Poglayen-Neuwall, I, 1990. Pro­cy­onids. Pp. 450-453 in Parker,S.P., ed. Grz­imek's En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Mam­mals, Vol 3. New York: Mc­Graw-Hill.

Poglayen-Neuwall,I., 1988. Bas­sariscus as­tu­tus. The Amer­i­can So­ci­ety of Mam­mal­o­gists, 327: 1-8.

Trapp,G., 1972. Some anatom­i­cal and be­hav­ioral adap­ta­tions of ring­tails. Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 53(3): 549-557.