SMALLER MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA 



433 



I 







o 



"babisuri." It is about 

 the size of a large cat, 

 but with proportionately 

 longer and slenderer 

 body, shorter legs, and 

 longer tail. The alter- 

 nating bands of black 

 and white on the tail pro- 

 claim its relationship, not 

 to the cat, to which it 

 has no kinship, but to the 

 raccoon, which has a tail 

 similarly marked. Few 

 mammals possess such a 

 beautifully formed head 

 and face, and its large, 

 mild eyes give it a vivid 

 expression o f intelli- 

 gence. 



The ring-tailed cat oc- 

 cupies areas under such 

 differing climates as to 

 produce geographic races, 

 but none of them vary 

 strikingly from the typi- 

 cal animal here illus- 

 trated. They range from 

 Oregon, Nevada, south- 

 ern Utah, Colorado, and 

 Texas south to Costa 

 Rica. In Mexico they 

 occur from near sea- 

 level up to an altitude of 

 about 10,000 feet. While 

 chiefly rock - inhabiting 

 species, they sometimes 

 live in the forest and as 

 a rule make their dens 

 in caves and deep crev- 

 ices, but sometimes in hol- 

 low trees or about houses. 

 Their young, from three 

 to four in number, are 

 born in May or June. 



In the Southwest they 

 frequent some of the 

 ruined cliff dwellings, 

 and I have found them 

 haunting many of the 

 ancient ruins of Mexico. 



Their presence in little caves and other shel- 

 tered spots along cliffs and rock walls border- 

 ing canyons or on mountain slopes may usually 

 be known by an examination of the fine dust 

 which accumulates in sheltered places. When- 

 ever present their delicate cat-like tracks will 

 be found where they have been hunting mice 

 or other small game. 



Strictly nocturnal, they do not_ sally forth 

 from their dens until darkness is complete. 

 During the night they are restless and fre- 

 quently wander far and wide in search of food, 

 and apoarently at times merely to satisfy a 

 spirit of inquiry. Their inquisitive nature fre- 

 quently leads them to explore the streets of 

 towns and cities on the Mexican table-land, 

 filled though these places are with dogs. At 



Mink 



f / 



/ 



/ 



6.7.S. 



AMERICAN MINK TRACK NEARLY NATURAL SIZE 



Although this animal has five toes on each foot, only four appear 

 in each track. This illustration, which is practically natural size, 

 shows the usual arrangement of the track. The hind feet are, of 

 course, in advance. Variations of arrangement are shown on the 

 opposite page (see also pages 453 and 472). 



daybreak, tracks left in the dusty streets tell 

 the story of their wanderings, as they often do 

 also in the case of opossums. 



One morning in February, 1893, soon after 

 sunrise, I chanced to pass through a little 

 wooded square in the City of Mexico and 

 saw a lot of boys pursue and capture one of 

 these animals which, having overstayed its 

 time, had been surprised by daybreak. This 

 wanderer might have had its den in some house 

 in the neighborhood, since one of its known 

 habits is to take up its abode about houses, even 

 in the midst of towns. A friend living in the 

 City of Mexico informed me that after having 

 been annoyed for some time by noises on the 

 roof at night, he investigated and discovered 

 a female cacomixtle with partly grown young 



