Found from as far north as southern Colombia and southern Venezuela and as far south as northern Uruguay, the South American coati is a diurnal mammal which is also known as the coatimundi or nasua nasua and can be initially mistaken as a raccoon due to the rings on its tail, as both the coati and raccoon are closely related as procyonids.
Sunday Morning Photograph May 22 2022: South American Coatis in Brazil.
An adult South American coati can range in length between 13 inches and 27 inches — or between 33 centimeters and 69 centimeters — and they can weigh as little as four pounds and as heavy as 17.6 pounds. One distinct characteristic which all coatis share is a slender head with an elongated snout which is flexible and slightly turned upward. Small ears, dark paws with long claws which do not retract, and a long, non-prehensile tail used for balance and signaling are also recognizable features of these creatures.
The omnivorous coatis — which are shown in the photographs in this article — are in Parque Nacional do Iguaçu in Brazil, which is on the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. When they are not seeking out fruits and invertebrates and eating palms, eggs, larval beetles, scorpions, centipedes, spiders, ants, termites, lizards, small mammals, rodents, and carrion when it is available, they tend to accost tourists in search of any easy food or refuse they can find — and they are quite quick: drop a cracker or some other food on the ground; and it will be snapped up by them in no time.
Coatis play an important role in controlling the populations of pests through their foraging behavior — as well as provide food to predators — but they can also cause damage to crops, and damage households in villages. They have also been known to engage in fowl play by occasionally absconding a chicken or some other type of poultry.
Final Boarding Call
Although they look rather similar to raccoons, the scurrying behavior of South American coatis in Iguazu Falls reminded me of common grey squirrels which are found in the eastern United States.
Please click here for a complete list of the Sunday Morning Photograph series of articles at The Gate.
All photographs ©2005 by Brian Cohen.
