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Three of these family members can be found in Southeast Arizona: the raccoon, the ringtail, and the coati. However, coati’s closest relatives, the olingos, are far away, climbing through trees anywhere from Nicaragua to Peru. Even though Procyonids are in the carnivore order, every member of this group is omnivorous, and the kinkajou subsists mostly on fruit. Coatis themselves will eat almost anything they can find, from insects, lizards, and small mammals, to fruits, roots, and nuts. Although they possess sharp teeth and claws for defense, they will fall prey to big cats, foxes, and birds of prey. Over the years, there has been some debate over how to classify coatis. You may spot a large group of them, sniffing through the leaves. Or you see a lone coati, foraging and moving around on its own. When researchers first noticed this, they misclassified the white-nosed coati into two species, Nasua solitaris, the solitary coati, and Nasua sociabilis, the social coati. However, they soon realized their mistake, as further evidence revealed that this was simply different coati social structures that change with the seasons. During the winter and fall, males are solitary, carrying out their life independently of the groups of females with their growing cubs. During the mating season in the spring, however, males join the group, and later, the pregnant females wander away from the group to give birth, causing the groups to become only loosely associated. In the late summer, however, the females reunite with the groups, bringing their new cubs together and driving out the males once again. Nowadays, there are two recognized species of coati, but they are not divided based on their social status. These two species are the white-nosed coati, and the ring-tailed or South American coati, which is only found in South America. ![]()
References: “Coatis, Raccoons, and Ringtails,” National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/sagu/learn/nature/coatis-raccoons-and-ringtails.htm (accessed July 28th, 2021). Matthew E. Gompper, “White-Nosed Coati (Nasua Narica),” Montclair State University. https://www.montclair.edu/prism/2018/11/27/white-nosed-coati/ (accessed July 29th 2021). New World Encyclopedia contributors, "Coati," New World Encyclopedia, , https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Coati&oldid=678857 (accessed July 29, 2021). “White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy and History,” San Diego Zoo Wildlife Allianc Library. https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/white-nosed-coati/taxonomy (accessed July 29th, 2021). |
Last updated: August 15, 2021