‘Secretive creature’ evades capture for weeks in Kohl’s shoe department in Colorado

A “secretive creature” evaded capture for three weeks by hiding out in a Kohl’s shoe department, authorities in Colorado said.

The ringtail cat gnawed through ceiling tiles and shoe boxes to “sneak in and out of our cat traps to get the food without tripping the mechanism,” according to a Jan. 9 tweet from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The nocturnal animal was captured carefully and “released into the nearby woods,” the sheriff’s office said.

Despite their name, “ringtail cats are not cats” at all, the sheriff’s office said. Instead, they are “related to raccoons.”

They are native to Colorado but are still a “rare sight,” according to the sheriff’s office.

“This cat-sized carnivore resembles a small fox with a long raccoon-like tail,” according to the National Park Service. “Its tail is typically as long as its body and is banded with 14 to 16 alternating black and white rings.”

Though ringtail cats can live in various habitats, they prefer “rocky areas, canyon walls, and talus slopes,” NPS said. The nocturnal animals, who are “expert climbers,” spend most of their days sleeping.

“They eat a wide variety of animals, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects, but they also supplement their diets with fruit, including juniper berries, in winter,” NPS said.

If you happen upon a ringtail cat, the sheriff’s office warned, “don’t touch; they are wild.” Instead, snap a photo.

Jefferson County is about 40 miles south of Boulder.

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