Early last month, a worker at a saloon in Tortilla Flat, Arizona, was stunned when they checked the restaurant’s fry oil disposal container and found someone hairy struggling inside.
Concerned for the little girl, a saloon staff member contacted experts at Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center. When rescuers arrived at the scene, they almost couldn’t believe their eyes. The animal was a ringtail, a raccoon-like mammal native to desert habitats. Though ringtails are beloved in Arizona, it’s very rare to see one.
“Although ringtails are the Arizona state mammal, they often go unnoticed, as they mostly come out at night,” Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center animal care manager Kim Carr told The Dodo. “They’re secretive, small critters that rarely show themselves. They like to inhabit rocky canyons and den in caves, rocky crevices, hollow trees and sometimes buildings. Our center doesn’t see ringtails very often, maybe one every few years.”
Experts could immediately tell the ringtail would need time to recover.
“Unfortunately, the shock from [the] experience left the ringtail shivering, breathing heavily and unable to move,” Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center wrote in a Facebook post.
Rescuers brought the ringtail back to the conservation center, where they gave her a bath and got all the oil out of her fur. They also gave the ringtail a checkup to make sure she was OK.
Vets determined that the ringtail cannot be released due to scarring in her lungs. She doesn’t have to worry, though. From now on, she’ll live at the conservation center’s sanctuary with another rescue ringtail. Safe and cared for with her own kind, this ringtail’s happiness is guaranteed.
