Coati

English - Coati 

 Portuguese - Quati 

 Latin - Nasua nasua 

Coatis are related to the raccoon family. The name ‘coati’ comes from native American Indian word meaning ‘belt’ and ‘nose’, referring to the way coatis tuck their nose into their belly while sleeping. 

They are found in most parts of South America and can be found in a wide range of forest habitats, even in high altitudes of up to 2500m above sea level. 

Adult coatis measure 33 to 69 cm from head to the base of the tail, which can be as long as their bodies. They are about 30 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh between 2 and 8 kg, about the size of a large house cat. Males can become almost twice as large as females and have large, sharp canine teeth. They have a slender head with an elongated, flexible, slightly upward-turned nose, small ears, dark feet, and a long, non-prehensile tail used for balance and signalling. Coatis have a long brown tail with rings on it which are anywhere from starkly defined like a raccoon’s to very faint. They often hold the tail erect; it is used as such to keep troops of coatis together in tall vegetation. Coatis have non-retractable claws and are also double-jointed as their ankles can rotate beyond 180°; they are therefore able to descend trees head first. The coati snout is long and somewhat pig-like, part of the reason it has a nickname ‘the hog-nosed raccoon’. It is also extremely flexible – it can be rotated up to 60° in any direction. They use their noses to push objects and rub parts of their body. The facial markings include white markings around the eyes and on the ears and snout. Coatis have strong limbs to climb and dig and have a reputation for intelligence, like their fellow Procyonidae, the raccoon. They prefer to sleep or rest in elevated places and niches, like the rainforest canopy, in crudely built sleeping nests. Coatis are active day and night. In the wild, coatis live for about 8 / 9 years, while in captivity they can live for up to 15 / 16 years. 

Coati breeding season mainly corresponds with the start of the rainy season to coincide with maximum availability of food, especially fruits, between January and March in some areas, and between October and February in others. During the breeding season, an adult male is accepted into the band of females. The pregnant females separate from the group, builds a nest in a tree or in a rocky niche and, after a gestation period of about 11 weeks, give birth to a litter of three to seven kits. About six weeks after birth, the females and their young will rejoin the band. Females become sexually mature at two years of age, while males will acquire sexual maturity at three years of age. 

 Coatis are omnivores; their diet consists mainly of ground litter invertebrates, such as tarantula, and fruit They also eat small vertebrate prey, such as lizards, rodents, small birds, birds’ eggs, and crocodile eggs. The snout, with an acute sense of smell, assists the paws in a hog-like manner to unearth invertebrates. They are also known to snatch food from picnic tables as we witnessed in Foz de iguacu. (photos 3 & 4) 

Coatis are not listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List so they are safe for now, but in some places, where their forest homes are being destroyed, they may be at risk.  

Photos of the Coatis were taken at Cataratas de Iguacu Brazil   

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