Texas park rangers spotted an elusive nocturnal creature lurking during a nighttime survey, surprising onlookers.
A ring-tailed cat was filmed strolling through Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo on September 12.
The creature is a cat-sized carnivore that looks like a small fox with a long raccoon-like tail and is completely nocturnal, meaning it spends all day sleeping, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Excited rangers were left in disbelief when they noticed the ringed tail and filmed it as it ran across the rocky terrain.
“I told you so,” a ranger said as they began recording. “No way,” said another.
Texas park rangers spotted a ring-tailed cat (pictured), an elusive nocturnal creature, wandering around during a survey.
The ringtail was filmed strolling through Palo Duro Canyon State Park (pictured) near Amarillo.
The video begins with the ringtail moving through some bushes before coming into view before continuing to climb up rocks.
“Isn’t that great?” said the ranger. “Look at that, he’s jumping,” said the other.
Ring-tailed cats are not members of the feline family, but are named for their feline appearance.
They are mammalian members of the raccoon family native to the Southwestern desert region.
They only come out at night and have a dispersed population, making them difficult to detect in the wild, according to the San Antonio Zoo.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies ringtails as a species of least concern, meaning their population is stable but they face some risks, such as habit loss.
Ringtails are cat-sized carnivores that look like a small fox with a long raccoon-like tail.
They only come out at night and have a scattered population, making them difficult to spot in the wild.
They prefer to live in rocky areas and are excellent climbers, which allows them to build their burrows in cracks and hollows.
Ringtails tend to live alone, however mothers live with their babies and often only come out at night to mate and eat.
They eat a wide variety of foods, including birds, rodents, carrion, reptiles and amphibians, as well as insects such as grasshoppers and crickets. They also eat native fruits and berries.
Last year, a ring-tailed cat was found lethargic on an Amarillo property and taken to the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.
“(The ringtail) exhibited extreme lethargy, dehydration, malnutrition and hypothermia,” the center said.
A veterinarian determined that the creature had ingested bromethalin – rat poison – and died, a local radio station reported. the bull.
In Colorado, an adorable ring-tailed cat (pictured) was rescued from a pantry in January
Their presence in northern Colorado surprised rescuers since the area is outside their native territory.
In January, a ringtail was discovered in a pantry in downtown Longmont, Colorado.
Their presence in northern Colorado surprised rescuers since the area is outside their native territory.
“We were also surprised to see one in such an urban setting along the Front Range,” said Mysti Tatro, community relations manager for Greenwood Wildlife. KDVR At the moment.
‘We’re really not sure how this little creature ended up in a Longmont pantry. Maybe he hitchhiked? It’s hard to know, but there have been sightings on the Front Range, so it’s not completely out of the question that it was simply living in the wild and then decided to hide inside during the recent cold snap.
