South American coati

Nasua nasua · The South American coati is a raccoon-family mammal that lives in tropical and subtropical forests across South America.

Also called Ring-tailed coati, Coatimundi, Common Coati.

South American coati
Photo: Rufus46, CC BY-SA 3.0
South American coati
Photo: Amandasmws, CC BY-SA 4.0
South American coati
Photo: © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com, License CC BY-SA, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCarnivora
FamilyProcyonidae
GenusNasua
SpeciesNasua nasua

Where it lives

Forests from Colombia and Venezuela to northern Argentina and Uruguay.

Fun facts

  • About half of its 85-to-113-cm body length is made up of its long tail.
  • Unlike its northern cousin, it doesn't have a white snout, giving it the nickname 'brown-nosed coati.'
  • It hunts by poking its snout into crevices, flipping rocks, and even ripping open logs with its claws to find prey.
  • Females travel in bands of 15 to 30 animals, while adult males roam alone.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).