Family

• Procyonidae

Lifespan

• Wild:  7 to 8 years
• Captivity:  14 to 15 years

Size

• Length: The body is 2 to 2 ½ feet, with a 12 to 18 inch tail
• Weight: 7 to 13 pounds

Origin

• Southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America

Habitat

• Forests, savannas, grasslands, scrublands, and mountains

Lifestyle

• Coatis are diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day.
  • Most of their day is spent searching for food, grooming, and resting.
• Females and young travel in bands of 5 to 20. The males are primarily solitary, hence the name given them, "coatimundi" meaning "lone coati".

Diet

• Wild: Omnivorous (eats plants and animals). Insects, fruit, small mammals, spiders, eggs, small reptiles, and seeds
• Zoo: Ground beef, dog kibble, fruits, vegetables, primate biscuits, and eggs.

Reproduction

• Coatis have 3 to 5 young in a tree nest of leaves and branches.
• The entire group cares for the young.

Special Adaptations

• The long tail is used for balancing and slowing down descent from trees.
• Their agile snout, rich with sensory receptors, along with their heightened sense of smell is adapted for rooting through the earth.
• Their powerful, curved claws make them good diggers too.
• Coatis can even rotate their ankles 180 degrees to descend trees headfirst.

Unique Characteristics

• Coatis sleep in the treetops.
• They comb their fur with their teeth and claws.
• They also are strong swimmers and excellent climbers.

Conservation Status

• IUCN: Least Concern
• CITES: Appendix III
  
• Coatis help control insect, reptile, and amphibian populations.
• However, they also damage farmers’ crops and are considered to be agricultural pests.
  • Despite this challenge, Coatis are not currently listed as a threatened species.

 Sources

1.  CITES Appendices. Accessed December 2012. www.cites.org

2. IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Accessed December 2012. www.iucnredlist.org