Methods for targeting ringtails with trail cameras

Most studies employing trail cameras use similar techniques: setting the camera about 4’ off the ground, aiming the camera into an open field or down a game trail, and trimming or avoiding vegetation that could cause false triggers.

These methods actually reduce the likelihood of observing a ringtail!

Setting cameras for ringtails:

• When looking at habitat, look for possible denning locations.

  - They’re constantly on the move, switching dens every 1-3 days (Toweill, 1976).

  - Will den in large diameter trees, particularly cottonwoods, oaks, and snags of conifers. Will also den in rockpiles.

  - They can fit into a hole as small as 3”.

• Consider a food source.

  - Ringtails are generalist omnivores.

  - They will hunt for small rodents, birds, and insects, but really like fruits, berries, and succulent leaves like oak mistletoe. Are there blackberries nearby? Wild grape? Nesting birds?

  - Historically, it was thought ringtails were never more than 0.4km from fresh water (Hall, 1946). We now know they prefer riparian areas for the habitat complexity and food availability (Richards, 1976; Yarchin, 1988).

• Look for a “ringtail highway”.

  - Ringtails are predominantly arboreal. They are prey for bobcats and coyotes, but also avian predators like hawks, owls, and golden eagles. They have to avoid predation from above and below!

  - Therefore, ringtails are reliant on cover and structure and are rarely seen in open habitats. They will traverse habitats on horizontal structures like rock walls and downed trees, and will leap boulder-to-boulder, or climb branch-to-branch.

  - Ringtails will traverse on the ground, but in our experience, they prefer not to.

  - We comment that they seem to “flow like water” over the terrain.

Here are two locations that look great for ringtail observations. Camera (yellow x) aiming at bait (red x).

• Which brings us to bait.

  - Ringtails are highly food motivated and very curious. They will come to traps set with chicken legs, sardines, peanut butter & grain balls, or fruit attractants.

  - We’ve always baited our cameras and traps with a mix of chunky strawberry jam and fish-based canned cat food. For our current study, we will testing a fruit-based scent lure to avoid calling in bobcats to ringtails.