212 



FUR FACTS 



on this account. The European trappers who trap moles stretch 

 the skins square or oblong, but never round. Moleskins are in good 

 demand, but those improperly stretched and poorly handled have 

 little or no value. 



THE RINGTAIL CAT 



The ringtail cat is not familiar to most trappers as it is found 

 only in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, California, Oregon 

 and Washington. The animal is about the size of the mink, the 

 body being from twelve to fourteen inches in length and the legs 



CMRll 



RINGTAIL CAT 



raising the body about four inches from the ground. The most 

 distinguishing feature is the tail, which is about the same length 

 as the body and marked in alternate rings of black and white, and 

 of a very bushy appearance. The color of the body is a greyish 

 yellow and always lighter on the under side. The animal is noc- 

 turnal in its habits and is rarely, if ever, seen in the day time, its 

 large eyes being especially adapted for use at night. The ringtail 

 cat does not belong to the cat family, as the name would imply, 

 but is really a member of the monkey family and has hands re- 

 sembling those of the common monkey with almost perfect fingers. 

 Their chief food is frogs, mice, and insects, and sometimes vege- 

 tables, and the animal prefers thick woods which abound in insects, 

 to the open land and thin timber, where his natural food would 

 not be so plentiful. 



