Coatis can swivel their ankles far enough to climb down trees headfirst
The coati, a long-snouted raccoon relative of the Americas, can turn its ankles beyond 180 degrees, so it descends tree trunks nose-first. Its pig-like snout rotates up to 60 degrees in any direction to root out prey, and its tall, ringed tail works like a flag to keep a foraging troop together in dense vegetation.
Coatis, or coatimundis, belong to the raccoon family and range from southern Arizona, New Mexico and Texas down to northern Uruguay, in habitats from dry scrub to Amazon rainforest and cold Andean slopes. Adults are roughly the size of a large house cat, weighing between 2 and 8 kilograms, with a tail as long as the body. Males can grow almost twice as big as females and carry large, sharp canines. The name comes from Tupian languages of Brazil, where coatimundi means 'lone coati'.
That name fits only half the population. Females and young males travel in noisy, loose bands, while males older than two are driven out by the females' collective aggression and live alone, rejoining a band only briefly in the breeding season. Unlike their nocturnal raccoon cousins, most coatis are active by day and sleep in crude nests high in the canopy. They eat almost anything, from fruit and tarantulas to lizards and crocodile eggs, sniffing out invertebrates and digging with their paws.
They have a rich vocabulary of chirps, snorts and grunts for grooming, making up after fights or showing irritation. A coati hiding its nose between its front paws is signalling submission. In Panama they rub resin from a particular tree into their own fur and each other's, possibly to repel insects or fungi, or to mark scent, though nobody is sure. Their tough hide, strong jaws and quick claws make them difficult for dogs or jaguars to seize.
Wild coatis live up to about seven years, but captive ones average about 14. They are sometimes kept as pets, though they behave quite unlike dogs and need spacious enclosures and careful watching. Around 10 coatis are thought to have established a breeding population far from home, in Cumbria, in northern England.
Source: Coati
