North American Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology

Nocturnal

• Rarely active in daytime (Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988; Trapp 1978)
• Commonly feed at night; sometimes active near dusk (Trapp 1978)

Home range size (from summary by Wyatt 1993 unless otherwise noted)

• Varies widely
• Independent studies employ different techniques; results not easily comparable
• Smallest ranges reported in riparian forest habitat (Lacy 1983; Wyatt 1993)
• E.g., 0.05-0.14 km² (12-35 acres), reported in one 8 month study in a California riparian forest (Lacy 1983)
• Between 0.05 and 3.49 km² (12-862 acres), based on calculated estimates reported from population studies in Arizona, California, Texas, and Utah

Sex-specific differences

• Males travel in larger areas than females, based on reports in many studies (Wyatt 1993)

Solitary except during mating season (Nowak 1999)

• Males may stay near females for a few months, although this is uncommon in the wild

Mark territorial borders

• Urinate and defecate regularly (Nowak 1999)

Aggressive displays

• Snap and aggressively bark or growl (Willey and Richards 1981)

Play behavior (summarized by Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

• Bat at objects or others with the forefeet
• Bounce on one another
• Pick up objects with the mouth and toss them by flipping the head

Sound features (summarized from Hoffmeister 1986; Nowak 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988; Willey and Richards 1981)

• Fox-like calls (Grinnel et al 1937)
• Alarm or defensive displays
•    Arrhythmic sounds:
• Sharp bark (140-400 Hz)
• Growl (180 Hz)
• Piercing scream (1.5-2.6 kHz)
• Hiss
• Rhythmic sounds:
  • Whistle-grunt (Willey and Richards 1981)
    • Rhythmic sequence indicates social tolerance

Sub-adults

• Chittering
• Loud rhythmic pulses (7 kHz) every 0.5 s, lasting 5 min or more (Willey and Richards 1981)

Infants

• Metallic chirps, squeaks (Richardson 1942)
• Whimpering
• Mewing, by young while nursing (Willey and Richards 1981)

Female estrous call (Willey and Richards 1981)

• Similar to chitter of sub-adult, but with a lower acoustical frequency and fewer pulses per second (Willey and Richards 1981)

Anal gland secretions

• Musky odor (Richardson 1942)
• Not typically detected by humans, except in close proximity (Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988; Richardson 1942)

Urine (from Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988; Richardson 1942)

• Rubbed on ground or raised objects
• Home range marker

Fecal deposits (Barja and List 2006)

• Latrines (sites containing multiple fecal deposits) are most common
  • Located at territory boundaries, most often
  • Possibly function as territorial markers, inter-group signal
• Solitary fecal deposits located toward center of territory
  • Possibly function as intragroup signal

Seasonal marking

• Urine deposition and scattered defacation often apparent before and during the mating season (Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988; Richardson 1942)

Climb in trees and on cliffs and ledges (from Trapp 1972 unless otherwise noted)

• Agile and quick (Nowak 1999)
• Ricochets off vertical surfaces; to leap across large open expanses
• Headfirst, vertical descent
• Possible due to great dexterity of hind foot, 180^o rotation
• May hang upside-down while traveling
• "Chimney stemming"
  
  • Mountaineering technique for climbing a crevice; placing hands and feet against one wall pressing the back against the other

Walk on toes

• Gives appearance of gliding (Grinnel et al 1937; Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)
• Hind feet follow path of forefeet (Grinnel et al 1937)
• Foot-prints of the hind feet often fall on top of those of the forefeet

Tail used for balance (Trapp 1972)

• Held arched over back toward head when crossing open spaces (Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

Sleep (summarized by Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

• Warm weather
• Lie on side or back, with rear legs spread and forelegs in air when exceptionally hot
• Cold weather
• Curled with feet under body, head against belly and tail wrapped around body

Grooming (summarized by Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

• Mothers groom offspring
• Self-grooming
• Cat-like licking of forefeet coupled with wiping of head from behind ears toward muzzle, scratching, and nibbling

Ringtails rely on speed and agility to hunt at night.

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Barja and List (2006)
Grinnel et al (1937)
Hoffmeister (1986)
Lacy (1983)
Nowak (1999)
Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill (1988)
Trapp (1972)
Trapp (1978)
Richardson (1942)
Willey and Richards (1981)
Wyatt (1993)