Coati

The coati is an agile, fruit-loving, meat-eating insectivore—an opportunistic omnivore—that is as at home in the trees as it is snuffling along the forest floor. Weighing as much as a large housecat, these mostly diurnal mammals are native to Central and South America, and parts of the southwestern US. Visually, the coati resembles a cross between a dog, a monkey, and a raccoon. It is related to the racoon.
Wherever they live, coatis play an important mid-level role in food chains. They consume a wide range of insects, invertebrates, and plant matter (fruit, nuts, roots, leaves), and small vertebrates. They are prey for wildlife like jaguars, ocelots, jaguarundis, foxes, boas, birds of prey, and even humans. Being mid-food chain has its perks…and its downside.
With its tail up posture, long, mobile snout, and formidable front claws, the coati sniffs along the forest floor in search beetles, grubs, ants and termites, spiders, scorpions, centipedes, frogs, lizards, and other assorted prey. Its long, muscular, semi-prehensile tail helps it balance in the trees; on the ground its tail usually stands straight up, perhaps helping them keep track of each other in the vegetation.
Category:Mammals
Category:Central American Animals
Category:American Animals
Category:Mexican Animals