ringtail cat |

Well! We have discovered where the ringtails play. Two weeks ago I put the critter cam on the stairs to the tower after having spotted that small creature under the bottom step. I expected a lot of action because of the prodigious amounts of scat we regularly find and sweep off the tower landings. Not being a scat expert (though I do know quite a lot of shit), I figured the raccoons were the culprits. And probably they do account for a goodly amount of it. As do squirrels, I imagine. But I had not really expected the frequent and playful visits of ringtail cats. Take a look:

Wikipedia is a many splendored thing–and I drew much of the following information from the article “Ring-tailed cat.”

They are not cats at all. They are in the same family as raccoons. The ringtail is the state mammal of Arizona. They are omnivorous, devouring fruit, insects, and berries in the spring and summer. They have been enjoying the abundant persimmon fruits this summer, as attested to by the aforementioned abundant scat. In the cooler season, they are more carnivorous–and we hope they will help control our ‘Tom and Jerry’ population.

In learning more about these creatures, I happened upon blogs written by folks who do not enjoy or admire ringtail cats. It seems they kill them with abandon and display their collection of lifeless bodies with pride. I can kill cockroaches, flies, and mosquitos and other biting and stinging insects. But it is hard to imagine killing (or even wanting to kill) these beautiful and playful critters.

They are said to be solitary, but I think the two playmates on the stairs forgot. They must be young ones, enjoying their first summer and fall. Ringtails mate in spring and the gestation period is about 6-7 weeks. The babes will hunt for themselves after about 4 months–which might be right about now. (You may have noticed them playing with a dead frog in the video.) They are nocturnal (obviously!), so I don’t harbor any hope of getting a good photo of one.

Having had such good luck with the critter cam and ringtails, I will try to find and see what other lovelies walk the land when we are not looking or when we don’t know how to see them. Stay tuned.

Early in our life and times here, we were visited by a rangy, skinny, hungry cat we called Mouser. We had hoped he would take care of some of the unwanted wildlife we discovered here early on. “Field mice,” Elise called them. Somehow that sounded a little less yucky to us, almost friendly, like cartoon mice, Tom and Jerry and Mighty Mouse come to mind. Nevertheless we were not eager to have them around and we hoped Mouser would enjoy them. Alas, Mouser moved on or passed on before the field mice did.

Next came Steven, a long and lanky Abyssinian. We learned that his home is across the road from us. But he befriended us on Thanksgiving weekend 2011, and demanded his share of the bounty on Thanksgiving Day. We really enjoyed him a lot. He’d show up soon after we’d arrive and pretty much hang around for the weekend. He was necio and loud when he was hungry, but he’d join us on walks and race up the trees and seemed to really enjoy life. Alas, the joy we took from him ended when he, too, disappeared. The owners posted signs on our road to see if anyone had him or had seen him, but apparently to no avail. We haven’t seen him since then.

Then there was the all-too-brief and fuzzy appearance of a bobcat on the critter cam. A bobcat! Imagine that!

And this brings me to another cat–the ringtail cat. We’ve only seen brief glimpses of it via the crittter cam. See for yourself:

Now what brings this to mind is that today, this afternoon, with our very own eyes, we saw on the deck, near the stairs to the tower, a small ringtail. We thought it was a kitty. Until we saw that distinctive tail. It disappeared quickly and I thought it had gone to the pond. But it hadn’t. And then I saw it, that tail disappearing into the eaves or the rafters of the bathhouse. I wonder if it lives in there. Maybe we’ll see it again soon.

So I’m heading out now, to put the camera on the deck to see who shows up next! It’s wild around here!

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Ringtail, otra vez

Cats