Ringtail Cats

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rpecora
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Ringtail Cats

Post by rpecora »

I'm curious how many of you have seen them out while herping in California, and where. I myself have only seen them in the San Gabriel Mtns.
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Mike Waters
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Mike Waters »

I haven't seen one in years but we use to see them around caliente creek (lower tehachapi's. What about fishers? Any one see those?
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rpecora
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by rpecora »

I have only seen marten's here in SoCal, and have seen a marmot on two occasions in the sierra's.
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monklet
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by monklet »

I saw a Ring-tailed Cat driving in the mountains above Ojai one night but I wasn't herping. Very rare and maybe my best critter sighting ever. Had Mountain Lion up near Isabella while night driving one time too...probably my second best critter. So what's my best snake?...probably a saugie in AZ a couple years back.
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Chad M. Lane
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Chad M. Lane »

I've seen a Fisher in Oregon.

This year alone, I've seen 20+ Marmots. While road hunting I seen a San Joaquin Kit Fox in an area I've never seen them in 8 years. So that was pretty cool.
Yesterday in the Sierra's while looking for Hydromantes I seen a Bob Cat, only my second ever, first during the day. Other one was early this year looking for Tiger Salamanders it had a small Rabbit in it's mouth.

I've seen a few Weasel species one in the Valley near my house, and 2 in the Sierra's.

I've seen some Badgers while road hunting, plenty of Coyotes. Seen some Cougars in the Sierra foothills on my Aunt property, and two way up in Amador County while hiking.

I think that's all the mammals I've ever seen. I've actually never seen a bear, since I was 7 or 8 when I was in Montana.

Only real mammal photo I've yet to get.

Image
Yellow-Belly Marmot.



Cheers,
Chad
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Mike Waters
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Mike Waters »

monklet wrote:I saw a Ring-tailed Cat driving in the mountains.
Highly unlikely. :lol: :lol: they can't drive
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Fieldnotes
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Fieldnotes »

I've seen Ring-tailed Cat above Kernville (kern County) and on the Grade in Anza-Borrego.
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Ross Padilla
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Ross Padilla »

I seen one by Scissors Crossing and the San Gabes.
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monklet
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by monklet »

Mike Waters wrote:
monklet wrote:I saw a Ring-tailed Cat driving in the mountains.
Highly unlikely. :lol: :lol: they can't drive

I didn't believe it either...and I thought I saw it throw a beer can out the window too :beer: ...shoulda got a pic darn it!
Chad M. Lane wrote:I think that's all the mammals I've ever seen. I've actually never seen a bear, since I was 7 or 8 when I was in Montana.
I still have never seen a bear...but I've seen scat...does that count?
repaphin
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by repaphin »

Ive seen them out in calico.
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jonathan
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by jonathan »

I'm surprised at how many ringtail cats have been seen...I didn't realize how widespread they were. I figured they were only in a couple pockets here and there.

If they range so far, I wonder what their population density is like, and what about their habits make them so rarely seen.

I've never seen one, though my friend on the other side of the car saw one once in Utah (gone by the time I turned my head).
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by hellihooks »

I saw one last year on the 173... back way up to L Arrowhead. ran across the rd in front of me, climbed bout 6 ft up a cut, sat there and looked at me as i pulled up, fumbled with my camera, and tried to get a shot... forgot the flash...click ... he was gone. DOH!! He was 'Dun' in color...NO markings of any sort... just all light tan.
I see weasles (my fav) in the Cajon, and years ago had a 'pet' badger living undeer my house at Willow Beach... used to hand feed him PB sandwiches... he'd stroll right into my house looking for handouts.... :shock: :D jim
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rpecora
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by rpecora »

Ringtail Cats don't stay in one place very long. So if you see one your chances of seeing it again the next night are slim. The cat I saw earlier this year was timid and didn't seem bothered by my presence. I have seen too many to count bear and deer while herping. I have only seen a badger on two occasions, and have seen many weasels as well. Here's the ringtail I saw earlier this year. I've also added a couple herps I've seen from the same area this year.

Image

Image

Image
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David Jahn
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by David Jahn »

I saw a ringtail in the Bay Area several years ago on Mt. Hamilton. I was quite surprised, having had no idea that this area is in their range. This year I saw a Badger hanging out around a board line in San Mateo county, and I've seen 3 or 4 Bob cats, including one I came about 5 steps from stepping on a couple weeks ago. I've had very little success photographing mammals though, they're always long gone by the time I can get to my camera.
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Jeff Teel »

Laguna Mtns. San Diego Co. ca
San Bernardino Mtns. San Bernardino Co. ca-(lived here my whole life, and have only seen 2, both on the rd. 1 live and 1 dead, got pics of the dor)
Chiricahua Mtns. Cochise Co. az
pecos co.-(I think pecos or terrell) tx. If you like seeing mammals when herping...go to tx. You can easily see over a hundred deer on a cruise, plus my first dillo...that was as exciting as the herps I went to see were.
Jeff
Crotalus
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Crotalus »

I've seen at least a dozen on the grade in SD Co. Usually they were scurrying away from a DOR, and then on the next pass they'd occasionally be back to the same spot.
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by mikemike »

I've seen one DOR ringtail in either Yuba or Butte Co. in northern CA. I've seen countless grey foxes, red foxes in a few places, countless coyotes, kit foxes a couple times, one live badger, 2 DOR badgers, a few random weasels, and I couldn't even begin to think about how many skunks, opossums, and raccoons...

My mammal highlights this year are the 4 armadillo I've seen in the past couple weeks after moving east.
prairie dog
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by prairie dog »

Hey Mike.....the ringtail I saw was in the San Gabes...right across where everyone wades in the water & camps....its a parking lot with big trash containers where I saw it.
billboard
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by billboard »

On the grade/ Borrego.
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tspuckler
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by tspuckler »

I saw one two days in a row at the same spot in the Los Gatos area of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
I'm from the Greater Cleveland area, so it was pretty cool to see.

Tim
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jonathan
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by jonathan »

This is an awesome thread. I don't remember reading this much of it. They certainly live in a fascinating range of habitats for an animal that is so rarely seen (then again, I guess you can say the same for cougar). Is their population density low for such a small animal?

I've seen a cougar, 4 bobcat (three on the same trip, all in daylight), 1 jaguarundi, tons of coyote, lots of grey fox, a few red fox, 1 kit fox (sadly, I'm pretty sure I found that same kit fox DOR the next morning), 6 black bear, tons of raccoon, a dozen or so coatimundi, 7 common palm civets, 1 badger, 1 mink, 1 long-tailed weasel (plus one other DOR), a few sea otters, and 1 river otter. A few of the coolest ones (cougar, jaguarundi, river otter) were very brief sightings.
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Fundad
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Fundad »

Box Canyon
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JAMAUGHN
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by JAMAUGHN »

I've seen a couple of Ringtailed cats in the Ventana Wilderness, Monterey Co., and a mountain lion in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Bears and marmots I've seen in the Sierras. I've heard of badgers in San Mateo, but I've never seen one. That must have been pretty fantastic.

I saw a large, hairy hominid once when living in the Santa Cruz mountains, but it turned out to be the guy who lived up the street.

In Spain, I took a few of the younger karate students on a hedgehog hunt on the grounds of the university campus where we were staying. Found a few, which was kind of fun:
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European Hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus by J. Maughn, on Flickr
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Harold of the Rocks
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Harold of the Rocks »

I have seen 1 ringtail outside of Willits and several marmots on the Tioga pass.
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Speckled Rosy
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Speckled Rosy »

I saw my first Ringtail this year, in Berdoo Canyon(Little San Bernadino mts.)

Nice job getting the photo!
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Snakeherper5
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Snakeherper5 »

Seen one ringtail cross the road in front of me a while back in Idyllwild, CA. Only one I've ever seen. Cool little guys tho/ Also saw a black bear at lake Hemet one time. Never seen a mountain lion though although, foxes, coyotes, racoons, and bobcats all have been encountered in the san Jacintos.

i really would love to see a badger!!! That would be awesome.
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SurfinHerp
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by SurfinHerp »

No ringtails for me. But a pod of dolphins swam around me on Sunday while surfing in Carlsbad - that's always exciting.
Guess I'll keep my eyes open for ringtails next time I'm on the grade in San Diego - seems to be the local hotspot. I'm also still hoping to find a badger one of these days. Seems like it shouldn't be too hard to track one down, if only I knew where to start looking.
I've seen bobcats a couple times: once in Dos Picos County Park in Ramona, and once on farmland in Encinitas (now houses).
No one's mentioned pika yet. I saw a number of them on talus slopes in the eastern Sierras.
Seems to me this year has been especially good for quail and turkeys in San Diego - I've seen a ton of 'em.

Jeff
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jonathan
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by jonathan »

SurfinHerp wrote:No one's mentioned pika yet. I saw a number of them on talus slopes in the eastern Sierras.
I was going with carnivores only in my list, but I love pikas! I saw them while herping in the Columbia Gorge and they're quite cute. I've seen yellow-bellied marmot, prairie dog, agouti, nutria, muskrat, and beaver too.
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Post by craigb »

.
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herper79
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by herper79 »

Never have seen a ring-tailed cat, but would love too!
-Nick
Bobcats:
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Post by craigb »

.
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Norman D
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Norman D »

In Arizona, I have seen a coati, 2 black bears, 3 ringtail cats, elk, pronghorn, raccoons, lots of kit foxes/gray foxes/coyotes/mule deer/Coue's White tail deer, but I have yet to see any cats (mtn lions, bobcats, ocelots, etc). I seen most of the mammals this year and last year.

In California, I have only seen lots of Raccoons near my family's home in Echo Park.
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JAMAUGHN
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by JAMAUGHN »

This guy turned up while I was looking at garter snakes this afternoon:

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Long-tailed Weasel, Mustela frenata by J. Maughn, on Flickr
hellihooks
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by hellihooks »

I LOVE LT weasels... my favorite mammal... :thumb: Used to see them all the time in the orange groves near where I grew up (in Highland) and even caught one and kept it as a pet for several years. Watching 'weasy' tear into a rat or squirrel twice his size, then put down nearly his own weight was AWESOME... when you're like 13 or 14... :roll: :lol: jim
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jonathan
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by jonathan »

hellihooks wrote:I LOVE LT weasels... my favorite mammal... :thumb: Used to see them all the time in the orange groves near where I grew up (in Highland) and even caught one and kept it as a pet for several years. Watching 'weasy' tear into a rat or squirrel twice his size, then put down nearly his own weight was AWESOME... when you're like 13 or 14... :roll: :lol: jim
That's awesome! I've only seen one live one, when I was much younger and poking around on the golf course. It was cool looking, but I only got to glimpse it raising its head and looking at me for about 2 seconds.
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JAMAUGHN
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by JAMAUGHN »

This one looked as though it might have a go at me if I stuck around much longer. It actually advanced at me at one point. I think there might have been weaselets down that hole it's standing in front of.
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nightdriver
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by nightdriver »

I'll try this again. For some reason I think my posts get bumped if someone else is posting at the same time. It's happened 4 or 5 times.

to the topic at hand.

Ringtails are really cool. I've seen one live one in California that I can remember, Granite Mts. At least one roadkill. The first was North of Mt. Lassen. I've seen a number of live ones in Az.

I've seen 2 badgers this year. One Mt. Lion(live) in San Dimas 16 years ago. The best mammal in the last couple of years was a mink North of Bishop, below Pleasant Valley res.

Best mammal trip was to Venezuela. Capybara's, other large rodents, Giant River otters, river dolphins, and to top it off.......Giant anteater :beer: The herps wern't bad either 8-)


-nightdriver
Geqqo
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Geqqo »

Ring-tail hiding in a buddy's construction site here in Los Angeles County Topanga Canyon/Calabasas area. So there is another area for ya.

Jonathan- I am curious as to where you saw the jaguarundi? In the US? I think that this is my best mammal find and it was the briefest glimpse of one in So. AZ. Side of the road at dusk. Had no idea what I just saw. Thought it was a young lion at first.

Also seen bear (no griz 'cept at Yellowstone), marmots, bobcats, a weasel or two, foxes in CA and Az, of course coyotes

Still want to see fisher and badger and wolverine, but #1 top of the wish list is lion (also jaguar and ocelot in US!!!). Plenty of tracks and scat of lion over the years....

Carnivores are cool!
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jonathan
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by jonathan »

Geqqo wrote:Jonathan- I am curious as to where you saw the jaguarundi? In the US? I think that this is my best mammal find and it was the briefest glimpse of one in So. AZ. Side of the road at dusk. Had no idea what I just saw. Thought it was a young lion at first.
Belize. My wife and I were hiking in the Cockscomb Jaguar Reserve after a couple big storms. I was about 20 feet behind her flipping a log when she saw the jaguarundi just a few feet ahead of her on the trail. She said that he appeared to be sniffing something on the trail. She said my name urgently so I would see it, it took off and I looked up just to get the briefest glimpse of it disappearing, and the only picture I got was of one of its prints.
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Jason Hull
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Jason Hull »

These must have a pretty good sized range. I hear about sightings of them up here in Virginia City NV. People call them Miners Cats.
Here is a dead one from the grade in Borrego.

Image
dcooper137
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by dcooper137 »

(first post - hope it works) Ringtail is definitely one of my most-wanted mammals. Someone recently posted on LACoBirds (birding Yahoo group) about finding one at the start of the Icehouse Cyn. Trail (Baldy area), amid rocks. I haven't been there in a while, but that whole drainage has a lot of scree/boulder fields which is what they like. Also heard about one that was picked up by a rehabber in the Rancho Santa Margarita area of Orange Co. about 10 yrs ago, when it wandered into a shopping mall parking lot. I've heard from a number of folks who've seen them they like permanent water+rocks and often are down in steep-sided canyons.
VICtort
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by VICtort »

I am surprised that ring tails are regarded so hard to see...I have been lucky I guess, I have seen them in the cool and damp redwood areas of Humboldt County, on the Avenue of the Giants, n. of P-ville, and also in the grassland areas going east toward Harris. Butte County has quite a few, they were thought to be a predator to woodduck nest box projects, one of the few predators that could get into these cleverly designed boxes. I have seen a few in Anza/Borrego desert also, on the western sides near the mountains. I find them inhabiting a wide range of habitats, not just deserts as some would expect. Wow, we really developed this mammal thread...Vic
condyle
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by condyle »

I've seen them in the central Sierra foothills.
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Gluesenkamp
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Gluesenkamp »

My chicken coop. Cute lil' guy.
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liucommajames
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by liucommajames »

here's one from the los padres.

Image

Image

found her on a cool night in sept last year.
hellihooks
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by hellihooks »

I saw a juvie black cougar in the Cajon Pass yesterday. I gave my Honda's spare tire to my daughter, and hadn't replaced it yet... so of course... had a flat... :roll: I was sitting in my car, waiting for my son to arrive, and the cougar crossed the rd, bout 50 yds in front of me. It had stopped at the edge of the rd while I was scrambling to get my camera out of my backpack... but by the time I got it... he was gone... :roll: I've NEVER even heard of a black cougar before... :shock: jim
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Chad M. Lane
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by Chad M. Lane »

This makes me want to go find a Ringtail Cat instead of herping! Love the Longtailed Weasel too!
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JAMAUGHN
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by JAMAUGHN »

Jim,

of course, there's no such thing as a black cougar...

"...according to mountain lion specialists at the Department of Fish and Game, scientists have never encountered such a thing in more than 12,000 cases in North America. "If you look at all the pelts that are out there, nobody has even one mountain lion pelt that looks black...[said Steve Bobzian, a wildlife biologist for 14 years with the East Bay Regional Park District]" (http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-11-13/s ... er-bobcats)

...so no doubt what you saw was a huge, melanistic ringtail cat. :D

otherJim
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by hellihooks »

I know... I'm having a hard time convincing myself I saw what I saw. It was a cat... and it was black. Seemed to large for a housecat... but, after thinking about it... to small to be a cougar out on it's own. Yearling cougars are like 40 to 60 lbs before they leave their mom... this cat may have went 20 lbs. And now thinking about it... there's an exotic wildlife refuge, within a mile or so of where I saw it, in the Cajon Pass.... so it could be an excapee... :shock:
I know my cats fairly well (even raised a chinese spotted leopard,from a 2 day old kitten.. :D ) Wasn't a Serval, I'm sure, nor ocelot or Margay... I'm gonna go with Leopardus geoffroyi ...Geoffrey's Cat... some of which, come to think of it, are melanistic... :shock: .
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JAMAUGHN
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Re: Ringtail Cats

Post by JAMAUGHN »

Wild. It's quite a thing to see! Might be worth calling the exotic wildlife refuge? I wonder if they know of any other sightings?
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