Dental school's masked junk food burglar detained by Christy K. Robinson It's long been well-known that dentists and dental hygienists recommend a low-sugar diet to their patients, to prevent tooth decay. What is little known is that in nearly every School of Dentistry department office there is a tray or dish filled with bagels, donuts, candy, gum, and other snacks. Potlucks and fast food lunches are common, and there's always a cake nearby, celebrating someone's birthday. When pressed on the subject, dentists will sheepishly say that they're just trying to drum up restoration business. The first sign of a Prince Hall junk food burglar was found June 29, when Amy Meyer, secretary in Dental Records, found her rice/bean/cheese burrito torn to bits all over the counter and desk area. There were dusty footprints on the bookshelf and counter, and all evidence of egress pointed to an open ceiling tile above the desk. (The Dental Records office is in the center suite of Prince Hall's second floor.) The burglar found no food in the dental lab on the first floor, but left evidence of his presence on a piece of paper, according to Dr. Bill Westrick. A live trap was laid in first floor's Dental Maintenance. In the small trap was placed a delicious piece of frosted chocolate cake, and left overnight on Wednesday. On Thursday, lo and behold, the cake was gone, but the trap wasn't sprung. On Friday, Jim Redfield and Chuck Yetter, director and assistant director of dental maintenance, baited the trap with two chocolate donuts. This time, the donuts were placed in a mesh bag, tied to the inside of the trap/cage. The cage was placed on a work bench in the dental maintenance shop. On Monday, July 5, Mr. Yetter came to work and found a creature hissing and shrieking inside the cage, which had rolled off the deck and onto the floor. The animal looked like a fat weasel, or a skinny raccoon, with the face of a fox. Definitely not your garden variety possum or skunk. Mr. Yetter gave the animal some bits of donut, and poured some water into the cage to hydrate the agitated critter. Early on Tuesday, July 6, he called the city of Loma Linda's animal control officer, Kathy Sorrells, who took the animal into custody, and booked it for illegal immigration. Well, actually, she took it to San Bernardino's animal shelter for treatment of its serious wounds, bruises and a cut face, sustained during its attempted escape of the trap. There was some doubt as to its survival the first night.   School of Dentistry's ringtail cat. He injured himself severely while trying to escape the trap. During the weekend, he managed to break two of the bars, but cut his face and nose.   No one knew what the animal was until Ms. Sorrells looked it up on the Internet, although there was some guessing that it could be a coati mundi. It was a ringtail cat, which is not a cat at all, but related to the raccoon. It's native to Arizona, where it lives a secluded, nocturnal life, and is rarely seen. Ringtails eat small rodents, insects, fruits and berries. (Apparently also burritos and donuts.) The "cat" surname was added by pioneer miners who domesticated them for mousers. A few have been found in Baja California, and this one could have come from Loma Linda's south hills or the San Timoteo Canyon area; but because ringtails are so rare here, Ms. Sorrells speculates that this one hitched a ride from Arizona in a recreational vehicle. It is definitely wild, she says, and not a domestic pet. How did it get into the building? Possibly from the construction site, says Mr. Yetter. Being a natural contortionist, the ringtail traveled through narrow walls and floor spaces. The campus is lively with unauthorized creatures. Mr. Yetter suggests that if we keep food in the offices, it should be in refrigerators. (Possibly hanging bear caches!) Ms. Sorrells adds that if traps are set for animals, they should not be left over a weekend, but should be checked at least every 24 hours. The little ringtail cat survived its capture, and was scheduled for rehabilitation by Wildlife Waystation of Tujunga, California, and possible reintroduction to the wild (chocolate-free and donut-less) rocky creeks that ringtails prefer. S.D. Ringtail, one eye swollen shut but recovering. The ringtail cat, bassariscus astutus, is Arizona's state mammal. For more information on ringtail cats, click on the following sites: <http://www.humboldt.net/~tracker/ringtail.html> University | Medical_Center | LLU&MC_home | Search | Employment | News_&_events | Academics | Our_mission | Admissions | Registration | Research | Alumni | Student_resources All contents copyright © 2001 Loma Linda University. All rights reserved. Revised March 2, 2001 Send comments and questions to webmaster@univ.llu.edu  URL: http://www.llu.edu