#Raccoons and #Ringtails can both be found in urbanized areas and can cause significant damage to attic spaces and homes. While they have similar behaviors in regard to evidence left behind, their physical attributes are very unique.
A Raccoon will be much larger in weight. These animals can grow to be the size and weight of small dogs. (12-30 lbs) This larger body will require the #raccoon to create wider entrances into your #attic, ie. bigger holes. A raccoon’s diet is also slightly more diverse. Famously, raccoons have a “masked” face that instantly identifies them. This dark black mask connects over the nose creating a stark contrast from the white sides of the snout. In addition to the unique mask, their tail does have alternating dark and light rings, but they only have an average of 5-7, thus making each band quite wide.
#Ringtails, also known as Ringtail Cats, are similar to raccoons in length, but much lighter. Their body style is far more comparable to a #squirrel. They can fit into much smaller holes making them a bit more difficult to identify initially. Ringtails are excellent leapers and climbers and will have very little difficulty accessing areas such as junctions or gaps in tile roofs. Similar to raccoons, ringtails have dark coloring around the eyes, but theirs do not connect over the nose. The most identifiable similarity between a raccoon and a ringtail is definitely the presence of the alternating light and dark bands on the tail. Ringtails, however, have far more bands averaging at 15, 8 dark and 7 light. This is roughly 3x the amount a typical raccoon has. Other than body size, this is a very easy way to differentiate the two based on physical appearance alone. In addition to physical size and tail bands, Ringtails also have much larger ears in comparison to the size of their head. Their faces almost have a feline appearance
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