It moves with a slow, stealthy climb, at least three limbs always grasping a support. The diet is chiefly insectivorous but also includes shoots, young leaves, fruits with hard rinds, birds' eggs, and small vertebrates. When trying to catch prey, the method of attack is usually a cautious stalk, then a quick grab with both hands. Most reports indicate that it is aggressive, and when several individuals are kept together there initially is constant squealing and fighting, sometimes resulting in death. Eventually the animals become more tolerant of one another.
Females apparently enter estrus twice a year and are receptive for about a week.
There may be one or two young per birth.