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Northwest Wildlife Online
Family Procyonidae: Raccoons and Ringtails
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The ubiquitous Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor). Bright, dexterous invader of backyard garbage cans and terror of Koi ponds. Comical and friendly in appearance, Raccoons are often exceptionally ferocious when cornered.
Two Species of Family Procyonidae represent wildlife in the Northwest:
The Ringtail - Bassariscus astutus
Northern Raccoon - Procyon lotor
Everyone knows the raccoon. Distinctively marked, ubiquitous, mischievous, and intelligent, raccoons are inevitable, uninvited, nocturnal visitors to nearly every campsite and home in America. Ask any owner of a koi pond and they'll tell you more than one story of raccoon raids.
Almost comical in appearance, raccoons display a not so comical disposition if cornered or threatened. A 30 pound male is not a heavyweight, but he is a ferocious fighter if circumstances warrant. Most problems arise at the campsite or the backyard when people confuse the storybook image with the real animal. Dogs, to their dismay, have made the same mistake.
But when they are not raiding garbage cans or camp sites raccoons prefer the shorelines of ponds, creeks and lakes for foraging. Amphibians, crayfish, apple snails, fish; any living thing they can get their amazingly manipulative paws on are immediately grasped and eaten. Feeling around in the shallows and consistently dunking their food prior to dining, the name raccoon is a derivative of an Algonquin Indian word meaning "he who scratches with his hands." Raccoons are not strict carnivores, though, and will eat a variety of food from insects to nuts.
A less well known member of the raccoon family is the Ringtail. Also called a Ring-tailed Cat, Cacomistle, Miner's Cat, or Civet, this small, nocturnal predator has a rather exotic appearance, something like a cross between a raccoon and a cat. Ringtails are raccoonish in color, elongated, two pound animals with a triangular, fox shaped head, large eyes adapted for night vision, and a long, bushy, black and white striped tail that makes up more than half of the total body length.
Creatures of the night, Ringtails are rarely encountered, although they are not a particularly rare animal. In the Northwest they are found in rocky cliffs of southern Oregon and have a range that extends to Mexico. Ringtails have semi-retractable claws and are very cat like in their hunting techniques, displaying and ambush style of attack. Ringtails developed a strong reputation among miners for their mousing abilities.
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