The white-nosed coati, which I knew in my youth as a coatimundi, is one of four species of coati. It is found as far north as southern Arizona and New Mexico to as far south as northwestern Colombia.
It has a slender head, an elongated nose, small ears, and a long non-prehensile, a ringed tail which it uses for balance and signaling. Males are twice as large as females. It has brown fur with a mix of red and yellow on top and lighter brown on the underside. The lower legs and tops of the feet are blackish/brown. It has a black mask, white around the eyes, nose and on the inside of the ears.
As a young boy I read a book on raccoons, coatimundis and kinkajous and dreamed of having a pet coati.
In La Venta Park in Villahermosa, State of Tabasco, Mexico, we saw many, many wild coatis roaming through the park. They readily came for food and I fed several pieces of a granola bar by hand. These were the first coatis I've seen in the wild and possibly the first ones I've ever seen, even in a zoo.
Their flag-waving tails are so distinct. I wonder if you could ever tame one enough to snuggle with it like a cat or a dog.
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