Roving Ringtails

Raccoon or Ringtail?

The common but elusive Ringtail or Ringtail Cat (Bassariscus astutus) is not a cat at all, but a member of the Procyonidae Family and a close relative of the Northern Raccoon.  The origins of its scientific name comes from bassar or ‘fox’, isc or ‘little’, and astute or ‘cunning’. In Texas, it is found mostly in the Trans-Pecos, the Edwards Plateau, and the Cross Timbers regions.   

An adult Ringtail on our back porch railing.

While ringtails are cat-sized mammals, their face is fox-like with a pointed snout, their body is elongated, and their tail resembles a raccoon.  The ears are large, and their big, dark eyes are each surrounded by a patch of light-colored fur.  The fur on their body is buff to brown-colored above and whitish below, with a spectacularly bushy, ringed tail.  This tail is often longer than their body, and is marked by a series of 14 to 16 alternating black and white rings (black rings incomplete on the underside) with a black tip.  

Close-up of the face of a Ringtail.

Mainly nocturnal but sometimes seen at dawn and dusk (crepuscular), ringtails are roving, solitary mammals that come together only to mate.  Their breeding season starts in late February and continues to mid-April, and females are in heat for only one 24-hour period during this time.  In early May to mid-June 2 to 4 cubs are born fuzzy, white-haired, and with a tail that is not yet colored with the distinctive black and white bands.  The cubs open their eyes at one month, and at four months begin hunting for rodents, insects, lizards, birds, and berries.  Ringtails are quite vocal, especially the young, and will make a variety of sounds including squeaks, chatters, grunts, growls, and hisses, with the typical call being a loud, plaintive bark.  In the wild, ringtails live an average of seven years. 

This Ringtail is eating sunflower seed that has fallen out of our bird feeders.

Ringtails can be found in our oak-juniper woodlands that have rocky areas associated with water, including riparian canyons and caves, limestone cliffs, and sometimes in man-made structures like mine shafts.  They can den in tree hollows, rock crevices, other animals’ abandoned burrows, and even seldom-used spaces in buildings.  They roam frequently, rarely spending more than three straight nights in one den.  Interestingly, the ankle joint of the Ringtail is very flexible and is able to rotate over 180 degrees, which makes them very agile climbers.  By pressing their feet against one wall and their back against the opposite wall, or by pressing both right feet against one wall and both left feet against the opposite wall, they are able to ‘stem’ or ascend/descend narrow passageways and wide cracks in the rock.  Their strong tail can provide balance for negotiating narrow ledges and limbs, and even allows them to reverse direction by performing a cartwheel!       

Getting access to our bird bath is an easy feat for the agile Ringtail!

Ringtails have many other common names, including Miner’s Cat, as they were often kept by miners and settlers as pets, to keep their cabin free of mice.  A hole was cut in a small box that was placed near a stove or fireplace, which acted as a dark, warm place for them to sleep during the day, and they returned the favor at night, hunting mice and keeping them and other rodents at bay.  In the native language of the Nahuatl Indians of Mexico, ringtails were called cacomistle, which is derived from the word tlahcomiztli meaning ‘half mountain lion.’  Whatever you call them, consider yourself lucky should you spot one of these beautiful, timid, and rarely seen nocturnal mammals!  

Cooling Conduct

Eastern Ringtail dragonflies obelisking

The unrelenting heat this summer has affected all living creatures, and while humans can escape into air-conditioned spaces, wildlife needs to rely on other ways to regulate their body temperature.  Often this is accomplished through different types of behavioral strategies acquired through adaptation, and some may seem quite odd until you understand the dynamics at work.

One of the most obvious behaviors (for humans at least), is sweating.  But many creatures don’t have sweat glands, or only sweat from their feet (like some canines), so they rely on panting instead.  In panting, animals breathe rapidly and shallowly with their mouths open, thereby increasing evaporation from the surfaces of their mouths.  This evaporation removes heat and acts as a cooling mechanism.  Panting is used by most mammals (like dogs) and many species of birds. While panting is effective at removing heat, dehydration is a risk so a nearby water source is important.  Birds may also spread their wings and body feathers to allow heat to dispel, and they have an elaborate breathing system that includes air sacs (in addition to lungs) to help them get rid of excess heat through panting.

A molting Northern Cardinal, panting and spreading its wings to cool down

Some birds, such as some species of vultures and storks, will voluntarily defecate on their legs to cool down.  Since bird poop is mostly liquid, it works by having an evaporative cooling effect, much like sweating.  As the poop dries on the bird’s legs, the heat is carried away and it brings down their body temperature.  Pelicans, herons, doves, owls, quail, and nighthawks, can employ gular fluttering, vibrating the muscles and bones in the throat and exposing moist throat membranes to the air, which helps regulate temperature by increasing evaporation.

Insects, like most all creatures, can also maintain a stable body temperature in at least a portion of their bodies through some interesting behavioral means.  While many insects need some heat to warm up their flying muscles, many will adjust/reduce their activity levels or seek out shady spots to handle extreme heat.  Dragonflies, for example, will often obelisk while perched in the midday hot sun, or point the tip of their abdomen directly up at the sun.  It is believed that this behavior reduces the heating effect by reducing the amount of surface area exposed directly to the sun’s rays.

Checkered Setwing exhibiting obelisking as a cooling behavior

When temperatures soar, four-legged animals such as squirrels, marmots, rabbits, bears, and even dogs and cats will lie flat on their stomachs on a cooler surface with their arms and legs stretched out from their bodies.  This behavior is called splooting, and it is thought that since their bellies have less fur and lots of blood vessels, they can dissipate the heat and absorb some of the coolness from the surface.  Also known as frogging or pancaking, splooting can take on various forms: the full sploot (all four legs out), the classic sploot (one leg tucked underneath the body while the other is kicked back), the side sploot (one leg tucked under the body and the other kicked out to the side), and the reverse sploot or toolps (when the animal lays on its back with its legs in the air)!

Fox Squirrel in a full sploot on our back porch

Regardless of the method, we all have to find some form of cooling conduct that allows us to survive until temperatures fall and (hopefully) the rains begin once again.

 

The Real Rocky the Squirrel

 

Telltale signs of a Rock Squirrel Den

The squirrel family includes several different species that are grouped into tree squirrels, ground squirrels, and flying squirrels.  In central Texas, most are familiar with the Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) and the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), both of which are tree squirrels, meaning their habit is to live mostly among trees. The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans) occurs rarely in the eastern most portion of our area, and is named for the special flaps of skin on the sides of its body which allows for gliding flight.  But it is the Rock Squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus), which generally lives on or in the ground rather than in trees, that is our most notable ground squirrel.

Rock squirrels are stout, moderately bushy-tailed mammals, with mottled grayish-brown upperparts, a more brownish hind back and rump, buffy underparts, and a tail mixed with buff and brown and whitish tips.  The head and upper back are often distinctively blackish, and they have a light-colored ring around each eye. Adults are typically about 18 to 20 inches long, including the tail, and are found from central Texas westward into the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas.

Adult Rock Squirrel

As their common name implies, rock squirrels nearly always inhabit rocky areas such as cliffs, canyon walls, cervices, and rock piles, and even man-made areas like fills along highways and retaining walls.  These areas are where they seek refuge and create their dens.  Although they are typical ground squirrels, they can climb trees nearly as well as tree squirrels, where they can forage for berries and seeds, and they can scale rock walls with ease.  Their diet consists of a variety of plant materials, along with many types of insects.  Unlike many other squirrels, they are fond of flesh and can catch and eat small birds. They can survive long periods without water, some even up to 100 days.

Rock squirrels are facultative hibernators meaning they enter hibernation only when either cold-stressed, food-deprived, or both.   In central Texas they generally hibernate from November to February or March, often coming out to sun during warmer winter days.  Their populations tend to be colonial, each consisting of multiple breeding females and a dominant male.   Home ranges can be fairly large and include several different dens, and the males are thought to be polygamous.  Breeding occurs in March and April with an average litter of 4 young that emerge from the den in late spring.

A litter of 5 young Rock Squirrels

Most active in early morning and late afternoon, rock squirrels are rather shy and difficult to observe at close range. Like other ground squirrels, they are known for their tendency to rise up on their hind legs whenever they need to see over tall vegetation or when they sense nearby danger.  They then curl their front paws flat against their chests and send out a sharp, clear whistle to warn other family members if they sense the presence of predators.  Now you know more about Texas’ very own real-life version of Rocky the Squirrel!