Naturalist View April 2010

A New Visitor to SaddleBrooke

For the first time in the ten years, I have seen the Coatimundi in SaddleBrooke although I had seen them in Catalina State Park on several occasions. Several people had sent me photos of one or more of them on their roof tops or in their yards. One had been in a resident’s yard and they were concerned about their dogs. I told them that it would probably leave on its own, but the next day it was still there. I then determined that it had injured its leg and was unable to climb the wall and was also severely undernourished. It is now part of our nature program and is doing very well. He may be seen at Catalina State Park on Saturdays and will be at our fourth annual “Saddlebrooke Wildlife Exhibit” on Saturday April 3rd in the patio behind HOA#1 Gift Shop from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

White-nosed Coati :Order Carnivora: Family Procyonidae: Nasua narica

Coati on roof

Physical Description:

  • Height 8 to 12 inches tall

  • Body length 13 to 27 inches

  • Weight 7 to 15 lb...

  • Color variable from cinnamon to black with a distinctive mask defined by white marks above, below

    and behind the eyes.

  • Tail is quite long, 13 to 27 inches, striped, and carried vertically.

  • Ears are small and rounded, mostly hidden in the fur. Feet are generally like those of a raccoon, with
    powerful long front claws.

General information:

Coatis are active day and night. They spend their nights in trees, with several animals sharing a perch. While the male prefers to travel alone (and may be referred to as the coati mundi, or solitary coati), the females and their young tend to travel in bands of 4 to 50 individuals. New-born coatis are altricial, or very immature at birth. The coati is a social animal, so it is very vocal with a lot of snorts, grunts, screams, whines and chatters. Most of the day is spent foraging; but during the hottest part of the day, they tend to nap in trees. Coatis swim well and are excellent climbers. They use the tail for balancing on branches and for slowing down the descent of the tree.

Injured and undernourished

Special anatomical, physiological or behavioral adaptations:

The stout claws and long snout are used together for food gathering. They have an excellent sense of smell, and we will see them snuffling along the ground. When they smell prey in the ground, they will stop and dig there. They can also push dirt with their snouts. They are very active hunters for small mammals (mice or rats), insects and bird eggs. The canines of the males are quite impressive and are used as warning signals.

Feeding habits:

They are omnivores, preferring small vertebrates, fruits, insects and eggs. They can climb trees with great skill while using their tail for balance. Most often they forage on the ground. They readily adapt to the presence of humans and will raid trash receptacles. They can be domesticated and seem quite intelligent.

Recovered fat and healthy

Behavior:

They are primarily diurnal, retiring during the night to a specific tree and descending at dawn to begin their daily search for food. However, their habits are adjustable.In areas where they are hunted by humans for food or where they raid human settlements for their own food, they become more nocturnal.While adult males are solitary, females and sexually immature males form social groups. They use many vocal signals to communicate with one another and also spend time grooming themselves and each other with their teeth and claws.