North American Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) Fact Sheet: Reproduction & Development

Mating system (Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

• No detailed reports describing behavior
• Male chases female

Copulation (Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

• Male grasps female behind the pelvis with his forefeet, in a seated position
  • May hold female 1-2 minutes
  • Repeated quick thrusts lasting a few seconds
• Females vocalize with mating "chitter" before and during copulation
• Undertaken several times per hour

Seasonally monestrous

• Female receptive to mating once a year, for 24-36 hours (Nowak 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)
• Mate in February-May, in general

Denning

• Give birth in dens
• Located in rock crevices, under boulders, or hollow trees (Nowak 1999; Taylor 1954)
• Dens reported in old native American dwellings and upper parts of cabins
• Lined occasionally with leaves or grass; rarely with hair and feathers (Taylor 1954)
• Den use is temporary
• Young are moved often (every few days), once old enough (Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

(summarized from Nowak 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988; Zeveloff 2002)

Gestation

• 51-54 days
• Shortest pregnancy within the procyonid family

Birth

• May-June typical
• Range: April-July
• Born in nest or den
• 2-3 offspring typically
• Range: 1-4; as many as 5 have been reported
• Interval between sibling birth: 7-49 minutes
• Birth weight
  • 14-40 g (0.5- 1.4 oz), mean 22 g (0.78 oz)

Parturition

• 85-126 minutes
• Fetal expulsion takes 2-47 minutes
• Born head-first, typically

Infant (from summary by Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988 unless otherwise noted)

• Appearance (from Richardson 1942)
  
  • "Fuzzy, nude appearance"
  • Whitish fur; short to c.3 mm
  • Dark pigmentation around the nose
  • Tail short, hairless, banded with pigmented skin
• Development
• Ear canals and eyes closed at birth (Richardson 1942)
  • Ears open first, by 30 days
  • Eyes open fully by 34 day
• Fully haired by 35 days (Richardson 1942)
• Consume solid food by 6-7 weeks
  • Excrement of young consumed by mother until young begin taking solid food (Richardson 1942)
• Walk well by 6 weeks; climb by 8 weeks (Richardson 1942)

Juvenile Life (< c.3 years) (from Nowak 1999 unless otherwise noted)

• Care provided by female; male may stay in vicinity
• Forage with adults at 2 months
• Weaning complete at 3-4 months (Nowak 1999; Poglayen-Neuwall 1990)
• Full size at 30 weeks

Adult

• Male
  • Sexual maturity (testes descend) at 16 weeks (Poglayen and Toweill 1988)
• Female
  • Pregnancy indicated by vulval swelling and hair loss around mammae (Poglayen and Toweill 1988)

Wild populations

• About 7 years (Poglayen-Neuwall 1990)

Managed care

• Median life expectancy
  • 11.4 years (male, female data combined) (AZA 2024)

Predation (summarized in Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

• Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus)
• Coyote (Canis latrans)
• Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
• Bobcat (Felis rufus)

Disease (summarized in Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill 1988)

• Rabies
• Feline and canine panleucopenia
• Parasites
  • Many known ecto- and endoparasites

Interactions with Humans (Zeveloff 2002)

• Struck by automobiles
• Trapped for fur (Zeveloff 2002)
  • Decline in demand has driven down number of trapped animals since 1979
  • Pelt reportedly of poor quality

Ringtails use dens to shelter during the day and to give birth and raise young.

Image credit: © D Neal from Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Nowak (1999)
Poglayen-Neuwall (1990)
Poglayen-Neuwall and Toweill (1988)
Richardson (1942)
Taylor (1954)
Zeveloff (2002)