Read or Share this story: https://www.reporternews.com/story/life/columnists/2020/11/08/seeing-ringtail-cat-special-treat/6167179002/, Jared Rhoton, Special to the Reporter-News, (Photo: Photo courtesy of the Abilene Zoo), Two Abilene congregations joining for Advent services, Gus Clemens: The number that can make, or break, a wine, Girls interested in scouting may soon have another option, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. A ringtail cat. The eyes are large and black, each surrounded by a patch of light fur. They are born blind and deaf with a mainly white coloration and do not open their eyes for the first month of their life. While ringtails have an average lifespan of 10 years in the wild, they can live up to almost 20 years when kept in captivity. Once they leave the pouch, they cling to their mother's back or stay in the nest until weaning occurs at about 6 months. Males and females are both sexually mature by the mating season following their birth. Common ringtail possums communicate by means of vocalizations. Ringtails are omnivores, but most of their diet consists of animals rather than plants. Both parents often care for the young, the father carrying them around while the mother feeds. Common Ringtail Possum Wikipedia article -, 2. Ringtails resemble their larger raccoon cousins and are often misidentified as such by people who are fortunate enough to see them. They prefer to build their dens in areas that are rocky and hard to reach to protect themselves from predators. Despite their name, ringtail cats are not even cats at all. Gestation lasts about 4 months and they usually have one or two litters each year, usually 2 babies, although 1 to 4 have been recorded. The common ringtail possum is not solitary, unlike many other species of ringtail possum, and usually forms small groups, typically of one adult male with one to two adult females and their offspring from the last breeding season. They may eat juniper berries, persimmons, hackberry, prickly pear cacti, acorns, and other fruits and berries. Diet of the Ringtail. Their diet includes birds, rodents, grasshoppers and other insects. It uses its long prehensile tail as a fifth limb to enable it to climb and jump from branch to … If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them. Ringtails are cat sized animals that resemble a mix between a fox and a raccoon. Raccoons have the black band around their eyes that make them look like little bandits, but ringtails have white fur around their eyes that make them look like they are wearing spectacles. In built-up areas they are in danger of being struck by cars, and hunted by cats and dogs. Be on the lookout for native animals in your own backyard! They weigh about 1-2 pounds and are 24 inches in length (including the tail). If they are in forested areas, they will most likely have their dens in a hard-to-reach hollow tree. You do not need a Facebook profile to participate. If threatened, their tail bristles and arches over their head, making them look larger. Slimmer than a house cat but more robust than a weasel, the ringtail also somewhat resembles a small fox. 1. Ringtails are rarely seen during daylight hours since they are usually asleep in their dens after a long night of hunting for food. Ringtails are short at an average height of 6 inches, but their extremely long bushy tails can extend the length of their bodies to almost 3 feet. About the same size as a cat, the common ringtail possum is gray, with orange-brown tinges on its legs and tail, and white patches on its belly and behind the eyes, and a white tip to its tail. The ringtail is a small nocturnal carnivore that is a little smaller than a typical housecat. They will dine on carrion but prefer capturing rodents, insects, rabbits and ground squirrels. Common ringtail possums are to be found along Australia’s eastern coastline, Western Australia’s southwestern corner and in Tasmania. A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Hopefully, this trend will begin to reverse itself and their fan base will begin to grow. Their diet includes birds, rodents, grasshoppers and other insects. They usually weigh under three pounds and males are larger than females. Some less common food sources include fish, snakes, birds, lizards, and carrion. However, they are far less common in forested areas. However, you can easily tell the difference between raccoons and ringtails by looking at the area around the eyes and their distinctive tails.