ORDER

Carnivora (Carnivorous mammals)

FAMILY

Procyonidae (cacomistle, coatis, raccoons, and relatives)

HABITAT AND RANGE

Nasua nasua is found in tropical regions of South America, from Columbia and Venezuela to Uruguay, northern parts of Argentina, and into Ecuador. On the eastern and western slopes of the Andes Mountains they are found up to 2500 meters. Ring-tailed coatis primarily live in forested areas. Due to human influence, coatis prefer secondary forests and forest edges.

IDENTIFICATION

Coati upper parts are dark brown, gray, or dark or brightly rust colored. The underparts are white. The head is narrow with the nose slightly turned upward and elongated, and is very flexible, allowing coaties to search out food under leaf litter and overturned debris. The long tails of coatis are used for balance, and are black to brown with yellow rings. Coatis have thick, dull fur. The young are not as darkly colored as adults. Adults measure 41 to 67 cm from head to the base of the tail, with the tail adding an additional 32 to 69 cm to their length. These animals are about 30 cm tall at the shoulder, and weigh between 3 and 6 kg. Coatis have strong claws and forelimbs to climb and dig out food from under rotted logs. They can reverse the joints of the anklebone to descend trees headfirst.

DIET

Primarily omnivorous, coatis usually seek out fruits and invertebrates. Coatis eat palms, eggs, larval beetles, scorpions, centipedes, spiders, ants, termites, lizards, small mammals, rodents, and carrion when it is available.

REPRODUCTION AND LIFESPAN

Typically, one male is accepted into a band of females and juveniles near the beginning of the breeding season. The mating system is polygynous, with that male mating the females in the band. Breeding season for coatis varies with location, and corresponds with the maximum availability of fruit. Occurs between January and March in some locations, and between October and February in others. Females give birth to litters of 3 to 7 young 74 to 77 days after mating. Most births occur between April and June Five to six weeks after birth, the females and their young will rejoin the band. Females become sexually mature at 2 years of age, and male mature sexually around three years of age. In the wild, coatis only live for about 7 to 8 years.

NOTES

Coatis seem to prefer edges and secondary forest habitats, possibly due to human interactions. They have a wide variety of predators, most notably large cats.