Common Name: Coati

Type: Mammal

Family: Procyonidae

Range: Coatis are available from South America, throughout Central America and the southern united State. They are most common in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, where they are famous to have two liters in a year. They are frequently found in the Manual Antonio National Park, Cahuita National Park and around the Arenal Volcano. They are also commonly encountered in Hacienda Solimar, Corcovado Lodge Tent Camp, Wilson Botanical Garden and Monteverde area.

Size: The coatis are just about 34 inches long from head to tail and 12 inches in height.

Weight: The adult coati is weighing between 7 – 15 lbs. Males are larger than females. The male can make a size like a house cat.

Diet: The Coati is omnivores; it has diet that consists of ground litter invertebrates and different types of fruits, eggs, nuts, carrion and insects. Due to the increased tourism, they are familiarized to the people and are now known to plead for food. They also have known as an attacker to campsites.
Average life span: The average life span of a coati is 7-8 years in wild and around 14 years in captivity.

Habitat: coatis are common, inhabiting ranging from hot and dry regions to humid rainforest or even Cold Mountain slopes, including bushy areas and grasslands.

Breeding/Reproduction: Their breeding period starts during the rainy period when the maximum food s is available, especially fruits. In some areas it takes place between January- March and during October to February in others places. Females are sexually mature at the age of two, while males sexually mature at the age of three.
In breeding season, an adult Coati male is allowed to enter into the group of females and Youngs in the start of the breeding season, leading to mating. After matting, the pregnant females leave the group, make a nest on a rocky place or on a tree and having a gestation period of around 11 weeks, provide 3-7 kits. After six weeks of birth, the Coati females and their infants rejoin the group.

The white-nosed coati is a member of the family Procyonidae, which is closely related to ringtails and raccoons. The major difference between the white-nosed coatis, and the ringtails or raccoons is that the former is diurnal and usually retire to a chosen tree at night, while the latter are nocturnal. However, the coatis have been observed to be flexible and will sometimes hunt at night, especially when targeting human settlements for raiding trash and unguarded food. These mammals weigh between 4-6 kilos, and are about 43 inches long. The males are usually much larger than the females, for example, small females weigh as little as 2.5 kilos, while large males weigh as much as 12.5 kilo.

The white-nosed coatis are carnivorous, but will also eat plant matter and scavenge for other discarded food and for this reason are sometimes called scavengers. An adult male will usually hunt and scavenge alone, although females, and young and sexually immature males, will tend to form groups. White-nosed coatis also interact socially, mostly using vocal signals to communicate with each other and even grooming one another with their claws and teeth. Mother coatis also tend to leave their cubs with other females to babysit when hunting. The young cubs are known to play-fight and are extremely active and noisy, chasing each other up trees and playing other games.

The white-nosed coati is usually found in dry and moist wooded areas throughout Costa Rica. Their natural predators include raptors, hunting cats, tayras and boas. The white-nosed coati has adapted well to human presence and its lack of great commercial value has made it a poor hunting target, and for these reasons the coati is at no risk of being endangered anytime soon. They have also been observed to display remarkable intelligence, and are domesticated quite easily.