Despite being common like its fellow cousin, the raccoon, this creature is rarely studied, nocturnal, and smaller than a house cat. In the following images, the ringtail can be seen standing on its hind legs and surveying the area.

^{Image credits: Elster Photography}

The ringtail is a small carnivore that is known for confusing people about its identity. It’s described as a cross between a fox and a cat, but not much larger than a squirrel. It has once been referred to as “miner’s cat”, as miners in the 19th century used the animal for rodent control.

Despite being native to North America, the ringtails are secret and elusive creatures that are full of mysteries.

Credits: Trail Camera Captures One of North America’s Most Elusive Mammals: The Ringtail

Length: 26 to 47 inches from head to body, with a short tail adding an extra 4 to 7 inches.

Height: Stand about 20 to 35 inches tall at the shoulder.

Diet: Strictly carnivorous.

Lifespan: Typically 10 to 12 years in the wild, though they can live upwards of 15-20 years in captivity.

Population: The wild population is estimated to be between 2.3 and 3.5 million.

Lifespan: Average of 20 years in the wild, and up to 30 years in captivity.

Population: An estimated 300,000 to 750,000 black bears live across North America.

Diet: Omnivorous.

Speed: Can run up to 30 mph to 35 mph for short bursts.

Weight: 1.8 to 3.5 pounds

Tail: Rudimentary and stubby, only about 1 inch long

Physical Traits: Stout, cylindrical body, small, rounded ears, poor eyesight, and opposable thumbs

Range: Confined to the Pacific coastal region (southern British Columbia, western Washington/Oregon, and California)

Burrows: Powerful diggers that construct complex, 5–6 foot deep tunnel systems with distinct chambers for nesting, feeding, and feces.

Herbivorous: ferns (sword fern, bracken fern), salal, and tree leaves.

Weight: 35 to 65 pounds on average; older beavers can exceed 100 pounds.

Length: 3 to 4 feet long, including their 10-to-18-inch paddle-shaped tail.

Teeth: Front incisors are coated in hard, orange enamel and grow continuously throughout their lives to prevent them from wearing down.

Lifespan: Typically 10 to 12 years in the wild, though they can live up to 20+ years.

Habitat Range: Found in streams, rivers, marshes, and ponds

Body Length: 5.1 to 5.9 inches.

Wingspan: 16 to 1 7 inches

Flight Speed: Capable of flying between 12 and 60 mph, depending on the source, flight type, and altitude.

Diet: Moths, Mosquitoes, Beetles, flies, and dragonflies

Body Length: 9 to 11.5 centimeters

Wingspan: 27 to 31 centimeters

Ears: Short and rounded.

Membranes: Dark brown to black tail membrane heavily furred on the upper surface.

Lifespan: Up to 12 years in the wild.

Range: Found throughout southern Alaska, Canada, and most of the contiguous United States

Diet: Insectivore. They eat slow-flying insects like moths, mosquitoes, midges, and beetles.

Weight: 14 to 25 grams

Length: 11 to 13 cm

Wingspan: 32 to 40 cm

Fur: Long, glossy fur that ranges from rich chestnut/copper to dark brown on the back

Lifespan: Often live 18 to 20 years in the wild.

Habitat: timberline meadows, deserts, and suburban/agricultural areas

At around 12:25 pm, a group of teenagers from the basketball team at Jefferson High School was 3 miles into their hike when they encountered a black bear and her cub.

One of the teenage boys got too close, which spooked the bear. It charged and clawed the teen, leaving his face and legs injured. Another boy from the group injured his ankle while running away.

The teen was discharged from the hospital a day later and is physically okay but mentally shaken up, according to his parent.

Officer Linde concluded that the group of teens scared the bear, which prompted the aggressive behavior. So, Law Enforcement closed the trail and park. Hours after the attack, the state Fish and Wildlife Department searched the area for the bear with guns, with orders to kill the bear if found. No bear was located.

Black bears normally shy away from humans. In case you ever encounter a bear, the National Park Service recommends the following steps.

1. Identify yourself as human by speaking to the bear in a firm tone

2. Wave your arms and make noise to appear larger. If you are in a group, stand next to each other and make loud sounds.

3. If the black bear attacks you (in the unlikely event), fight back using your hands and legs. Aim for the eyes of use bear spray.

4. NEVER RUN FROM A BEAR. They are skilled runners and swimmers and can run up to 35 miles per hour.

Links:

Rare black bear attack on Mount Si injures hiker, shuts down mountain

Image:

Teen injured in black bear attack on WA's Mount Si

Learn about the importance of slugs in the Pacific Northwest ecosystem and see the world through a slug’s perspective at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. You can even be a slug at the slip-n-slide, make crafts, and more!

Slug Fest

2. Bat Talk at Green Lake

Explore the world of bats with professionals at Green Lake Park—no registration needed. Find out how to protect bats and coexist with them.

Bat Talks at Green Lake

3. Seattle Whale Watching Tours

Enjoy the eventful tour throughout the Salish Sea and the heart of the Puget Sound. View some of the region’s residents, including bald eagle, sea otters, sea lions and more!

View the FRS Clipper Whale Watching for booking details.

Seattle Whale Watching Tours

Meet Little Frei and Connor, two of the focuses of Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab project. Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo is piloting a monitoring system using AI that could discover why the Pacific Marten, a small creature in the weasel family, nearly disappeared from Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

The only problem, pacific martens are highly secretive and difficult to track. As a result, AI for Good Lab teamed up with Woodland Park Zoo to test and train the AI models. Scientists set the cameras in the Asian small-clawed otter exhibit to help monitor the animals.

20 organizations, including Woodland Park Zoo, received a grant that allows progress in the AI for Good Lab.

The technology is planned to be used worldwide, but as of now, in Washington state. It was first developed in the Redmond campus of Microsoft.

SPARROW utilizes traditional cameras and requires research to download the data. It uses solar energy and low-Earth- orbit satellites to target a certain area. Instead of researchers hiking to the site to collect the data, conservationists can now receive immediate results. Cameras are placed in remote habitats and use camera traps to continuously monitor the environment.

If SPARROW ever detects any martens in the Olympic Peninsula, scientists could easily go to the sites and collect DNA samples and other data on population size. The main goal with SPARROW was to test how animals interact with humans, but conservationists later realized that it would be more valuable in the zoo’s Olympic Marten Project. There are certain challenges to this, including weather and seasonal changes that could potentially disturb the cameras.

Scientists hope that SPARROW will be successful and assist conservationists in determining how pacific martens can live in the Olympic Peninsula.

Source: Could AI help save one of the Pacific Northwest’s most vulnerable animals?