Join our zoo community

Ringtail Cats in Captivity

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Paix, 30 Jan 2011.

  1. Paix

    Paix Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    25 May 2010
    Posts:
    483
    Location:
    Manchester
    Hello all,

    I am currently looking into Ringtail Cats (Bassariscus astutus) as a pass time, whilst doing so I realised that only 3 Zoos (Burgers, Frankfurt and Poznan) in Europe keep this species according to Zootierliste, where as the number of American Zoos that keep this species is far greater.

    I realise that this species is native to America, and this would be part of the reason why a good number of US Zoos keep them. But, Why are so few kept in Europe?

    What is the Ringtail Cats History in Captivity and does the species breed well in Captivity?

    Any information, enclosure pictures or stories would be appreciated! :)

    Thanks
     
  2. Zoogoer2000

    Zoogoer2000 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    8 May 2008
    Posts:
    1,462
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I know Oregon Zoo keeps ringtail cats, but I don't think they breed them
     
  3. lintworm

    lintworm Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    27 Oct 2008
    Posts:
    5,491
    Location:
    Europe
    In the past they bred very well in Burgers Zoo, but I think the last breeding occured in 2006.....
     
  4. Paix

    Paix Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    25 May 2010
    Posts:
    483
    Location:
    Manchester
    I have read elsewhere (forget where now though :confused:) that Ringtail Cats are unusually hard to breed in Captivity. Thanks for the replies.
     
  5. Talli

    Talli Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    21 Mar 2009
    Posts:
    165
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    I would think the fact that ringtails are nocturnal would be a factor. My experience has been that even when they are displayed in nocturnal exhibits, you don't usually see much.

    Since they are "my" state mammal, I'll go into tour mode and mention that while nicknamed "the miners' cat" because they were often tamed by miners, they're related to raccoons, coatis and kinkajous, the latter also strictly nocturnal.

    Say - has anyone seen an olingo? I didn't know about them until I checked my spelling of kinkajou.
     
    boro745 likes this.
  6. boopashaboopa

    boopashaboopa Member

    Joined:
    6 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    21
    Location:
    Tucson
    I know the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is thinking about planning on a breeding plan for ringtails
     
  7. Sun Wukong

    Sun Wukong Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    1 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    1,455
    Location:
    Europe
    Some reasons why ring-tailed cats are not very popular in European collections:

    -nocturnal & secretive
    -prone to develop stereotypic behaviour
    -not very appealing to the majority of visitors
     
  8. Kudu21

    Kudu21 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    10 Jan 2010
    Posts:
    2,208
    Location:
    US
    Even in the United States Ringtail Cats are not kept frequently or in high numbers. According to ISIS there are only 39 Ringtail Cats (both B.astutus and B.sumichrasti) kept in North America. A lot of those are kept alone or in single gender pairs.They are much more common in southern zoos than in northern zoos. I personally have only seen Ringtail Cats in one zoo. The Cincinnati Zoo keeps a female Central American Ringtail Cat or Cacomistle, (Bassariscus sumichrasti), in their Night House.
     
    boro745 likes this.
  9. jwer

    jwer Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    22 Jan 2007
    Posts:
    1,512
    Location:
    Groningen, Netherlands
    Huh, you can say what you want about ring-tailed cats what you like, but IF you manage to ever spot one, they ARE cute :p

    I agree that they're really hard to make a good exhibit though :(
     
  10. pinkback

    pinkback Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22 Apr 2010
    Posts:
    80
    Location:
    London, England
    They are a lovely species but the small European population is unlikely to increase very much. After Burgers initial success they have been unable to get any of the offspring to breed. Maybe pair compatability and not being able to reproduce seasonality has something to do with it.
    Also they are not recommended in the EAZA collection plan although the Small Carnivore TAG does monitor them. Cacomistle are quite long live, so the few there are will be around for a while and worth going to see if you have the oppotunity.
     
  11. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    10 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    7,702
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    @ Boopashaboopa - I didn't realize there was another Tucsonan on ZooChat (well at least not since Lightinghorse moved to Amarillo, Texas). Nice to have you post here.

    The only two places I recall seeing ringtails is Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and The Living Desert. They have always been curled up asleep and I agree they do not make good exhibit animals (cute as they are). Since I don't think they are threatened or endangered, I doubt there would be much of a push for zoos to have them.

    I was very lucky when I first moved to Tucson, I did a moonlight tram tour up Sabino Canyon and we actually saw a wild one walking along the road.
     
    German Zoo World likes this.
  12. Ituri

    Ituri Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    5 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    2,933
    Location:
    USA
    I frequently saw wild ones in the vicinity of Canyon Lake just east of the Phoenix metro area. Very fun critters.

    Phoenix Zoo used to display a pair in the Arizona Trail. The Hogle Zoo currently displays a Central American cacomistle.
     
  13. carlos77

    carlos77 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    5 Sep 2010
    Posts:
    205
    Location:
    mexico,d.f.mexico
    Cacomixtle are very hardy mammals that even live wild in large wooded areas of Mexico City such as chapultepec park or on the campus of the Universidad nacional autonoma de Mexico. They are rarely seen because of their nocturnal habits. In rural mexico, a cacomixtle is a name given to a person who is good at stealing, since the ringtails are well known as domestic fowl killers. There is a trio of cacomixltes at the Los Coyotes Zoo here in the capital city that are awake when feed at 10 in the morning and hide away the rest of the day.I have not seen any in other zoos in Mexico.
     
  14. Meaghan Edwards

    Meaghan Edwards Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    20 Mar 2008
    Posts:
    1,294
    Location:
    Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
    North Carolina Zoo had cacomistle. Not sure if they still have them or not.
     
  15. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Jun 2007
    Posts:
    23,379
    Location:
    New Zealand
    is there something about cacomistles that make them more prone to stereotypic behaviour than any other small carnivores in captivity, or is it just caused by poor husbandry that could be an easy fix?
     
  16. Talli

    Talli Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    21 Mar 2009
    Posts:
    165
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    I can tell you that as of today, the Zacango Zoo near Toluca Mexico has at least one on display.
     
  17. Jarne

    Jarne Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    31 May 2020
    Posts:
    837
    Location:
    Belgium
    Now that ringtails are once again being imported into Europe, with about 7 animals being imported in the last 6 years (Burgers' - 2.2.0 - 2015, Exmoor Zoological Park - 1.1.0 - 2018, Hamerton - 1.0.0 - 2019) and 2.1.0 being born in Burgers' this year, I'm interested if anyone has any knowledge of the current American population. If further imports are possible and interest from European zoos remains it might actually be possible to create a stable population in Europe.
     
    German Zoo World likes this.
  18. Great Argus

    Great Argus Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    30 Mar 2018
    Posts:
    5,442
    Location:
    California
    The American captive population is low afaik. I think Oregon still has them, and ASDM. Other than that I can't think of any other facility with them offhand, though I know there'll be others.
     
  19. EsserWarrior

    EsserWarrior Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2018
    Posts:
    1,620
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Ringtails are difficult to work with so many facilities don't house them.
     
    evilmonkey239 likes this.
  20. Onychorhynchus coronatus

    Onychorhynchus coronatus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    30 Sep 2019
    Posts:
    8,273
    Location:
    Brazil
    The "cacomixtle" as it is known in Mexico is quite a common animal in Mexican zoos as they are a common rescue animal in many cities of the country (they actually often inhabit urban environments).

    From memory they are / were kept by several zoos there like : Chapultepec, Los Coyotes, San Juan de Aragon, Guadalajara, Morelia and ZOOMAT.

    That said, as other zoochatters have already pointed out this is an animal that is nocturnal, very shy (given the option of a hide it will typically stay in there hidden whenever the public around and never come out), easily stressed and prone to several stereotypical behaviours.

    Needless to say, it doesn't make for the best animal in zoos and I really don't think that many zoos (at least in Mexico) house this species or obtain them intentionally. These are often simply rescued animals that cannot be rehabilitated to the wild and for whatever reason get placed in these institutions.
     
    Last edited: 22 Oct 2020
    Jungle Man likes this.