Ringtails expanding into southern Idaho, says UI-led study
Ringtails, a secretive mammal usually found in desert environments, have expanded their range north into Idaho according to a recent University of Idaho study that confirmed the animals’ presence in the Sawtooth National Forest south of Twin Falls.
Photo by BROOKE SMITH, iNaturalist
Using camera traps to document ringtails in the Sawtooth Range south of Twin Falls, University of Idaho researchers say the raccoon-like mammal has expanded its northern range into the Gem State.
Photo by DAVID AUSBAND
MOSCOW — New research provides the strongest evidence to date that ringtails — secretive, cat-sized omnivores with raccoon-like tails — have expanded their range into southern Idaho and may now be a resident species in the state.
Peter Rebholz, then a University of Idaho graduate student, and David Ausband, assistant professor in the university’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, documented ringtails, which are nocturnal and rarely seen in the wild, during a targeted camera-trap survey conducted in the Rock Creek canyon system of the Sawtooth National Forest south of Twin Falls. Over three months in early 2023, the team recorded nine independent ringtail detections across six camera locations, marking the first successful scientific survey to confirm the species’ presence in Idaho.