The animal known as the coati is scientifically known as the coati (coatimundi or coat). This name comes from the Tupian Indian words coati, meaning "belt," and mun, meaning "nose." This member of the raccoon family is so named because of its flexible, trunk-like nose. Inside, there are sensory receptors responsible for detecting odors. A large number of muscles makes this "extension" very flexible, as coatis use it to explore natural depressions in search of food.
Types of coatis:
- Nasua nasua (Common Coati);
- Nasua narica (Coati);
- Nasuella olivacea (Mountain Coati);
- Nasua nelsoni (Nelson's coati).
Finding photos of representatives of each species will not be difficult.
Content
South American nose
It is a subspecies of the common coati (Nasua nasua Linnaeus). It is distinguished by its narrow head with a flexible, mobile nose pointing upward. Its small, round ears have white rims on the outside. Its muzzle is brown or black. There are light spots just above and below the eyes, as well as behind them. Its neck is yellowish. All the characteristics of this cute animal are visible in its photo.
Short and powerful legs have movable anklesThis allows the animal to climb down trees with either end of its body facing down. The toes have long claws, and the soles of the feet are bare. The legs are black or dark brown. These limbs provide advantages when climbing trees and foraging for food in the soil. The animal's tail is long and bicolored, with yellowish, black, or brown rings.
Coatis are excellent divers and swimmers thanks to the webbing between their toes. Coatis are very clean creatures, rinsing their prey, paws, and tails in the water as soon as they reach the shore.
The South American coati's body ranges from 73 to 136 cm in length, and its tail ranges from 32 to 69 cm. When moving, it always holds itself upright, although the upper tip is slightly curved. The coati stands 30 cm tall at the shoulder. It weighs 4.5 kg, although larger specimens weighing up to six kilograms can be found. The animal's entire body is covered in short, warm, and fluffy fur.
Among the coatis' enemies, the most troublesome are cats—cougars, jaguars, and ocelots. They also don't get along well with large birds. Their lifespan in the wild is 7–8 years, and in captivity – almost 18.
Lifestyle
The animals are active throughout the day. During the day, they forage for food, and at night, they settle down in trees to sleep. Incidentally, their young are born there, in their den.
Coatis generally feel quite at ease in trees. There, they hide from danger threatening from the ground, and easily leap from branch to branch if danger is also "at height." Coatis, however, walk leisurely, galloping for short distances. They do this in a rather unusual way: first, they support themselves on the palms of their forelimbs, and then roll forward with their hind limbs. The average speed is 1 m per second.
A distinctive feature of animals is the various vocalizations they produce:
- chirping;
- whining;
- screams;
- grunt;
- snoring.
Coatis use them to communicate..
The animal's canines are blade-like, and its molars have sharp cusps. The animal has 40 teeth in its mouth. While it's unlikely you'll be able to count them in a photo, the researchers' data on this animal is worth believing!
Nutrition
Coati are omnivorous animals.Its menu includes:
ants;- centipedes;
- scorpions;
- larvae;
- termites;
- spiders;
- lizards;
- small rodents;
- fruit;
- bird eggs;
- carrion.
ants;Coatis are also found in landfills, where they rummage through the remains of garbage. may steal chickens from farms.
Coatis grab biting insects with their forepaws and roll them on the ground to remove the stinger. They pin larger prey to the ground with their paws and kill them with a bite to the neck.
Way of life
The lifestyle of these animals varies depending on their sex. Females live in groups of 4 to 20 individuals, consisting of several mature females with their young. These groups are highly mobile, covering vast distances in search of food. Behavioral relationships within the group are complex, vaguely reminiscent of primate communication. For example, clan members groom each other, cooperatively care for their young, and ward off enemies. There are many touching photos of these animals grooming each other.
Each family group lives on its own territoryIts diameter is typically 1 square kilometer. Coatis in such groups are less susceptible to danger than individual coatis. To warn of danger, the female uses barking sounds. They mark their territory with an oily secretion from their anal glands and urine. If a stranger intrudes, coatis fight using claws and fangs.
The anal glands have a unique structure. They are a glandular region running along the upper edge of the anus, containing a series of sacs that open through four or five lateral incisions.
In the heat, coatis prefer shade. When the heat subsides, they go hunting. Coatis can travel up to 2 km during this time. Young coatis spend their time playing. At night, the animals climb to the treetops, hiding from most predators.
Reproduction
Males lead a solitary life. They join groups of females with young only during the mating season. It continues from October to MarchMales actively compete for females. They bare their teeth to rivals and adopt a threatening stance—rising on their hind legs with the tip of their muzzle raised. Only the strongest remains in the group. All sexually mature females mate with him, after which he leaves. The period of rearing young occurs around the time of fruit ripening, when food is at its most abundant.
Gestation lasts 74–77 days, after which 3 to 7 babies are born. During this time, the female leaves the group. She builds a nest in a tree hollow, where the offspring will stay until they are able to walk and climb trees.
Newborns lack fur, vision, and they weigh from 70 to 85 gramsTheir eyes open only at 10 days of age. At 24 days, young coatis are able to walk and focus, and at 26, they can climb trees. At 4 months, they begin to eat solid food. The female and her young return to the group when they are 5–6 weeks old. To keep them close during weaning, she "whinnies." This is fully achieved by 4 months. Until then, the coati nurses the young. Females are considered sexually mature at 2 years of age, and males at 3. Photos of newborn animals can be found online.
You can "meet" the South American coati in the South American tropics—from Colombia and Venezuela to Uruguay, Ecuador, and northern Argentina. The mountain coati inhabits the eastern and southern slopes of the Andes, up to an altitude of 2,500 meters.
Coati clan membership and social behavior
What qualities must individuals possess to be accepted into a clan? It's worth noting that it isn't always formed. based on family tiesTrue, "outsiders" in a group are more likely to suffer aggression from other members. They are pushed to the outskirts of the group's territory, where they are more likely to fall prey to predators. However, coatis benefit more from remaining in a group and gaining advantages than from being solitary.
Dispersal patterns are unusual: females rarely leave the group they were born into. Males, however, do so in their third year of life, although they remain within the clan's territory. They rarely defend their habitat, except in areas rich in food. The territories of groups of females and young, as well as mature males, can overlap by up to 66%, with only the core group using the main group.
Conservation in nature
Although most coati species are not endangered, there are reasons for concern. Nelson's coati, found on the island of Cozumel in Mexico, are threatened by industrial and tourism development. threatened with extinction, and mountain coatis are very sensitive to deforestation and human land use.
These animals are protected by CITES Appendix III in Uruguay. Their main threats are hunting and human encroachment into their habitats. Ten subspecies of Nasua nasua have been recognized and described to date.
