The Republican., 1894-07-05
THE COATI MONDi.
A Rare and Interesting Animal Fouid
British Guiana.

British Guiana.
The Coati Mordi is indeed a sttnge
| animal, both in form and habits! In
shape he is like a miniature beaf all
| excepting his long and pointed mtzzle
and his remarkable tail. Shortenthe
one and cut off the other, and you Yfll
have very good bear, although it hay
be tritle too short in the legs tosuit
the fastidious. He is fiat-sided by
legged in his forelegs, with mas, Ye
forearm, beady black eyes, very \ r.
less disposition, and shrill squeak pr
| a cry in captivity. In size the fpev
grown animal is about the size of J
terrier His hair is long and full, bit
! rather harsh, and its prevailing coDr
Is chestnut brown above and pale VI
low underneath. The nose itself is vey
dark brown in color. and the eyes ae
set in the miLdle of conspicuous whfe
patches, suggesting the glasses of a
pair of spectacles. The ears are smal
and quite bear-lille in shape.
The tail of this animal is a truly wo1
living animal always makes me thin
OF snake. 1t is nearly as long as th
head and body, very thick at the basg
from which it tapers down req
to the end, where it terminate
sharp, snake-lil<e point. I"~
specimens it is sometimes g4A...... eoa
with several dark rings, like the tail OF
a r.nn ht1t =
entirely in the full-grown animals sd
When | was in British Guiana,
Paulie, native hunter whom'I had
for companion in the Jungle told me
strange tales of fierce wild animal
that inhabited those forests, strnge in
form, active in habits, and terrible in
temper. He described i; as one of the
feline animals, calling it 'warracaba
tiger" which at that time threw me
completely off the track of its IDENTITY.
Paulie said it was the iercest of all
South American animals, ana always
hunted in packs strong enough to over
come and devour everything that came
in their way. They could climb trees
in search of their prey as we'll as any
cat. could descend a tree head first, and
their bands swept through the forest
like devouring army, uttering low
grunting noise as they went. He toId
me how he and some other hunters,
while encamped on the bank of river
at night, We're aroused by the sound of
an approaching band of varracaba
tigers. Springing from their ham
mocks, they fed to their Games, aban-
doning everything and padded for
mid-stream. When the cyclone of teeth
and claws had passed, they returned to
their plundered camp to find it com
plete wreck, Everything eahble had
Disappeared fruit and vegetables as
well as meat. He had never killed one
Of these fearful animals, and in fact
had never seen one. nor even the skin
of one. for no hunter of his acquaint-
ance had ever dared to attempt to kill
one of these unknown terrors. So far
as Paulie knew, the creature had never
been seen by white man.
The Coati Mondi is easily tanned, aIi
is often kept in captivity. Mr.. SauuN
Lockwood once published in thesRNttl
lar Science Monthly QS72) a mostly d
esting and amusing account of the lie
and adventures of a ''nosey" that he
had kept as pet. Judging from his
description | should say it would be
hard to find among wild quadrupeds a
more interesting or amusing pet than
this species. William T. Hornaday, in
St. Nicholas.