Does this look like a lemur to you? Animal Care Services officials warn that it’s not. Credit: Facebook / ACS

Last week, a San Antonio woman who believed she’d rescued a lemur called Animal Care Services for help when the exotic mammal started causing a ruckus in her car.

However, according to a June 12 Facebook post from San Antonio ACS, the animal she rescued wasn’t a lemur but something entirely different.

An ACS officer was able to subdue the animal, which had become so frenzied that the woman was forced to exit her vehicle and call for help, according to the social media post. She’d originally spotted the creature on the side of the road. Believing it was injured, she wrapped it in a towel and place it in her vehicle.

The responding ACS officer quickly realized the animal wasn’t a lemur but a ringtail — a  nocturnal species native to San Antonio.

Ringtails resemble a mix between a cat and fox but with the striped tail of a lemur. Hence the mistaken identity.

ACS was able to remove the animal from the woman’s car and transport it to a veterinary emergency room before relocating it to Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Inc., according to the Facebook post. In time, the ringtail will be released back into the wild.

“We love having animal lovers like Miss U in our community,” the post said of the woman who picked up the animal. “However, we ask you to please report injured wildlife to 3-1-1 for the safety of all involved.”

The rambunctious ringtail is just the latest animal to make local headlines in recent months. In January, ACS rescued an escaped coati, which looks like a mix between a raccoon and a squirrel. A South Side resident had been keeping that animal as a pet.

Last month, residents also contacted ACS to relocate a peacock named Kevin, which allegedly pecked two children at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, according to MySA.

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This article appears in Jun 14-27, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...