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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Central Point shutters warming station before it opens City of Ashland: growers market vendors must pay tax Building audits will help district save energy, and money Get Up & Go: Dec. 1 East Medford's the charm Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Community blog: Ernie Whiteman Sr. The Definition of a SRO Emergency services Man arrested for breaking into Talent pot dispensary Gold Hill man fighting latest illegal mining charge Emergency services Politics and Elections East Medford's the charm Pot, GMOs unite south Jackson County Buckley again named Ways and Means Committee co-chairman Latest count shows Measure 92 supporters narrowing deficit Granlund cartoon: GOP wrecking balls Education Building audits will help district save energy, and money Homelessness is growing problem for Medford students Les AuCoin recommended for SOU board Good news for SOU: Enrollment's up Mom gives school lobby a makeover Environment Hawks use I-5 as hunting ground Curbing urban runoff in Gold Hill Mt. 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A New Song ... Our View: What's in a name? Not that much, really ... Building audits will help district save energy, and money ... A New Song ... Our View: What's in a name? Not that much, really ... OUTDOOR JOURNAL Ringing up ringtails There are at least four known ringtail sites along the stretch of trail that begins off Highway 62 and runs up the Rogue River Gorge. They include a pair that were photographed, captured and collared last year in an effort to develop protocols for systematically surveying one of Oregon's more far-out fauna. By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 19, 2014 @ 2:00 am By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 19, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Social News Walk the Rogue River Trail along Lost Creek Lake at dusk with a fistful of raisins and a small jar of jam, and the world of Dr. Seuss just might come alive right in front of you. The rare and just plain weird ringtails that live along that stretch of trail upstream of Peyton Bridge have a definite nose for fruity things. Perhaps enough that one of these critters that looks like a gray cat with a raccoon tail stapled to its butt might drop out of the pages of "Green Eggs and Ham" and dance across the trail. If so, it's a Southern Oregon Bucket List moment, a check mark somewhere between the obligatory hike to the Bigfoot trap near Applegate Lake and watching a Pacific fisher raid a woodrat's nest. "Going out and seeing one, it's a longshot," says Rosemary Stussy, a state wildlife biologist who has studied ringtails around the reservoir for more than a year. "They're a mystery. But they're there." There are at least four known ringtail sites along the stretch of trail that begins off Highway 62 and runs up the Rogue River Gorge. They include a pair that Stussy photographed, captured and collared last year in her solo effort to develop protocols for systematically surveying one of Oregon's more far-out fauna. Before it ran out of funding, the study didn't yield enough information to develop a specific survey formula that would lead to the first mapping of the ringtails' range in Oregon and what habitats they prefer. But she did survey 78 sites around Lost Creek Lake and discovered ringtails at 19 of them, including those on the Rogue River Trail, as well as the trail on the southeast bank of the reservoir just above Lost Creek Marina. That makes two starting spots for those on the trail of the elusive ringtail. "We don't really know where they exist in Oregon," Stussy says. "We don't know if they're expanding their range or contracting. But I do know that's a pretty good density of those critters in that Lost Creek area." Known scientifically as Bassariscus astutus, ringtails are not actually cats but members of the raccoon family. Adults measure 12 to 17 inches long to the base of their tales, with the tails doubling their size. They are agile climbers and prefer living in steep, rough habitats. Their ankle joints are flexible and able to rotate more than 180 degrees, and their tails not only provide stability when climbing but also allow them to reverse direction by performing cartwheels. As a state-listed "sensitive" species, ringtails cannot be trapped or hunted in Oregon. Southern Oregon appears to be on the northern end of their known range, but there are no good population or range estimates for ringtails, though occasional reports come in of them raiding bird feeders in Ashland and throughout the Applegate Valley. They are nocturnal and omnivorous, eating anything from lizards and squirrels to nuts, berries and insects. At least two have a soft spot for raisins and jam. That's what Stussy used as bait to first photograph and then capture her two ringtails just off the Rogue River Trail last summer after a lucky hiker spotted them along the pathway. After getting the animals to eat in front of the camera, she used a live trap to get the smaller one first, with the mother succumbing to the bait a week later. Stussy sedated each one, then used a zip-tie to fasten a radio-transmitter loosely around their necks before release. The ensuing tracking showed these ringtails had multiple dens and favored riparian habitat — not so much for the water but for the prey that gravitate to it, Stussy says. And they appear to be local-vores, as well. Stussy's blinged-up duo stayed all year within a one-square-mile chunk of land around the trail. Stussy also might have accidentally turned the older of the two collared ringtails into something of a jam junkie. One night she placed cameras in three spots, each trained on a small bait pile of raisins and jam. The older female hit each one. "They really key in on that bait," Stussy says. That might be just the ticket for a hiker to recreate Stussy's trail-camera study and get a jpeg moment of a ringtail, as long as the animal isn't otherwise bothered. And maybe, just maybe, a hiker could spy one just off the trail spying on them. "You'd probably have to camp out with raisins and jam on your stomach just to see one," Stussy laughs. "But they're there, for sure." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman. By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Sep. 19, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. 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