318 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



Color, upper parts dark yellowish gray, heavily clouded with black-tipped, long 

 hairs; face dusky gray with whitish spots above and below eyes and in front 

 of ears; tail flattened, wide, with 7 transverse bars of white and 8 of bla,ck 

 including the tip, the black predominating above and the white below; lower 

 parts buffy or creamy white, approximately the same at all seasons. 



Measurements. Adult male from Glen Ellen, Calif. : Total length, 742 mm ; 

 tail, 346; foot, 76; ear (dry), 40. Of adult female from Prospect, Oreg. : 745; 

 361; 72; 40. Weight 28 to 39 ounces (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, P- 81). 



Distribution and habitat. The California ringtail inhabits western 

 California and southwestern Oregon, mainly in Upper Sonoran 

 Zone. There are specimens from Prospect, Grants Pass, and Gold 

 Beach, Oreg., all in the Rogue River Valley, and reports of occur- 

 rence at Riddle, in the Umpqua Valley, and along the west side of 

 Upper Klamath Lake. The description by Mr. Winans of Follyf arm, 

 east of the Steens Mountains, of a long-tailed cat with rings around 

 its tail, killed there in 1915, apparently adds a record for eastern 

 Oregon and possibly another form, Bassariscus astutus nevadensis 

 Miller (192^, p. 113) , to the State. Ringtails, however, are so often 

 kept as pets and escape after being carried long distances, that such 

 isolated records are questionable. 



Near Prospect, on the upper part of Rogue River, Preble caught 

 one of these animals in 1896 in a trap set at the base of a tree near a 

 cliff of the canyon wall and baited with fresh meat, the bodies of 

 small birds and mammals skinned for specimens. In 1910, A. B. 

 Cameron wrote to the Biological Survey that he had caught several 

 " ring-tailed cats " in 1896 near Crater Lake. He described them 

 as about the size of a marten, with long tails ringed with black and 

 white, and head, eyes, and ears resembling a small fox. In 1914 

 Harry Telford of Klamath Falls, found tracks near Crater Lake 

 that he " was pretty sure " were made by these animals, which he 

 considered common on the west side of the Cascades. In 1916 Mr. 

 Wampler, at Pelican Bay, told the writer that he had caught several 

 ring-tailed cats along the west side of Upper Klamath Lake, where 

 he usually trapped for fur in winter. 



Near Grant's Pass, Clark P. Streator in 1891, and Luther Gold- 

 man in 1914, reported them as well known to hunters and trappers in 

 that vicinity and usually found in the mountains and canyons. At 

 Gold Beach, in 1909, the writer saw one skin brought into the store 

 and was told that the animal was common in Rogue River Canyoi 

 near there. 



General habits. Over a wid.e range in the southwestern Unite< 

 States the ringtails inhabit mainly canyons, cliffs, and caves, but ii 

 western California and southern Oregon, under cover of forest am 

 chaparral, they range also to some extent over the lower mountaii 

 slopes at a distance from protecting rocks. They are strictly n< 

 turnal animals, hunting at night or in dark caves and rarely seei 

 except as caught in traps, or when they come into camps and cabii 

 at night to hunt for mice and rats. They are excellent climbers, botl 

 over cliffs and in trees, and are noted for their quickness and skill 

 in catching small animals for food. They have gentle dispositioi 

 and in the early days were often tamed and kept instead of ca1 

 to catch the mice and rats about the miners' cabins. 



Breeding habits. The females have usually two pairs of mamniJ 

 arranged in a quadrangle on the posterior part of the belly, and th< 

 young are, in the few instances known, 3 or 4 in number. 



