White-nosed coati / Coatimundi

The white-nosed coati is a member of the raccoon family. Its body is one and a half to two feet long and its tail is two feet long. It holds its long, thin, ringed tail upright when it is walking. It has small ears, long, sharp claws, and a long, pointed snout that tilts up a little at the tip. It has a black mask and white around its eyes, nose and on the inside of its ears. Its fur is brown with a mix of red and yellow on top and a lighter brown on its undersides. Its lower legs and the tops of its feet are blackish-brown. Males and females look alike but males are much larger. The white-nosed coati can be found in the southeast corner of Arizona, in the south west corner of New Mexico and in southwest Texas. It is also found in Mexico, Central America and South America. The white-nosed coati is omnivorous. It uses its long snout and sharp claws to forage for food. It often sniffs along the ground, pushing leaf litter out of their way as it roots for prey like beetles, grubs, ants, termites, spiders and scorpions. When it smells something underground, it uses its sharp claws to dig out the prey. The white-nosed coati's diet also includes lizards, snakes, carrion, rodents, nuts and fruits. One of its favorite fruits is prickly pear, in fact, it will return to the same tree again and again until the tree is stripped bare.