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Camara said her rescue ringtail Finnick still “yells” at her, while Vera said the ringtails he’s encountered let out a screechy loud cry as a defense mechanism. Ringtails communicate with barks, clicks, growls and even screams, certainly when humans are around. That tends to small critters such as mice, rabbits and insects, though ringtails also eat fruits and plants.Ĭhatty, scatty creatures. Like most raccoons, ringtails are active mostly at night and eat mostly what’s readily available. Ringtails also scurry up narrow passages like a rock climber by “stemming,” where they either press all their feet to one side of the wall and their back to the other side, or use their right feet for one side and their left feet for the other. Ringtails can climb vertical walls like a fuzzy-faced Spider-Man, thanks to their short claws, super flexible back feet that can rotate 180 degrees and a long tail that helps them keep their balance. On : White-tailed deer: These icons of Texas roam most of the U.S.Ĭrazy good climbers. Though as much as ringtails prefer rocky surroundings, Vera said he tends to find them up in attics in houses surrounded by more greenery. Vera said he’s seen more ringtail activity in the northern parts of San Antonio such as Stone Oak, where residences still have just enough seclusion and native terrain to keep wildlife in the area. Ringtails live up to around seven years in the wild. They tend to den in rock crevices and tree hollows. Ringtails live in a variety of habitats, including woodland areas and buildings, but prefer rocky desert habitats. Ringtails cover most of the southwestern United States and Mexico, including much of Texas except for the lower Rio Grande Valley and coastal plains. The “miner’s cat” name comes from when miners and settlers used them to clear rodents from their camps and cabins.Ī rock-loving critter of the great Southwest. Ringtails also are referred to as “ring-tailed cats” or “miner’s cats” for their feline appearance, though they’re actually part of the raccoon family.

Ringtails average around 2 ½ feet long - half of that is tail - and weigh around 2 pounds. The ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) is a mammal that sports a dark brown coat with a foxlike head, white fur around its eyes and a long black-and-white ringed tail. Here are a few secrets that have been uncovered about the ringtail. One of her many rescued animals is a young ringtail named Finnick, which lost a paw to a rat trap around six months ago and has been in Camara’s care ever since. On : Feral hogs cause more than $1.5 billion in damage each year, but the most hated animals in Texas have their charmsĬamara has seen that firsthand. That could be why they’re more secretive.” “They’re actually kind of a nervous animal. “There’s not a whole lot known about them because they are so secretive,” said Michelle Camara, owner of Southern Wildlife Rehab in Alamo Heights. Shy and solitary, this quirky cross between a fox and a raccoon tends to roam alone in the dark of night, its big masked eyes ever on the lookout for that next meal and crawl space to call its own. The catlike critter has become such a familiar sight, it’s even the cover star of Texas Rodent Control’s Facebook page, that the ringtail craves the attention. Credit that to expanding development that continues to take over their native turf. In fact, he just contained another ringtail a few hours before sharing that very observation. “It’s a big spike in activity that’s happened in the last five years,” said Vera, who removes and relocates just about any critter except rats and mice for Texas Rodent Control. Nowadays the wildlife removal specialist faces a different kind of gate-crasher: the aptly named ringtail. Jerry Lara /Staff file photo Show More Show Lessįor more than 15 years, Felix Vera has trapped and released numerous opossums and raccoons that have made themselves at home up in attics and under porches in and around San Antonio.

Paula Anz of Ellis County dances with Ringo, the ringtail mascot for the Texas Stars American Hockey League team. Wild Horizon /Universal Images Group via Getty Images Show More Show Less 6 of6 The ringtail, also known as the “ring-tailed cat” and “miner's cat,” is the state mammal of Arizona. Ringtails look like cats, but they are part of the raccoon family.

Michelle Camara Show More Show Less 4 of6 Texas Rodent Removal Show More Show Less 3 of6įinnick, a rescued ringtail in the cafe of Michelle Camara, owner of Southern Wildlife Rehab in Alamo Heights. Vera said he’s seen a spike in ringtail activity for the past five years. Northcott /Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of6Ī ringtail Felix Vera removed from a San Antonio residence and later released. It’s also being spotted a lot more in and around San Antonio. The ringtail is a shy noctural mammal of the raccoon family.