Kinkajou

 

Hi everyone, my freaky creature book is up to South America and the first creature it shows is the Kinkajou, have you heard of it, the name is familiar to me but that’s all.

The kinkajou is a tropical rainforest mammal of the family Procyonidae related to olingos, coatis, raccoons, and the ringtail and cacomistle. It is the only member of the genus Potos and is also known as the "honey bear". Kinkajous are arboreal, they are not closely related to any other tree-dwelling mammal group.

They like sweet treats and us their long sticky tongues to raid bee hives, and termite nests. Although kinkajous are classified as carnivores (they have canine teeth), most of their diet is fruit and nectar. On rare occasions they eat eggs, hatchlings, insects, and small vertebrates. Their 5-inch-long (13 centimeters) tongue can reach inside flowers or beehives for tasty honey or nectar.

 

Their main predators in the wild include the tayra, fox, jaguarundi, jaguar, ocelot and humans. They are often hunted for their meat and fur.

Kinkajou is not currently on the endangered species list, however their status in the wild is threatened.

Their rotating ankles let them run up trees without turning their body. They have a long gripping tail which is as long as their body which allows them to hang upside down from branches.

They are sometimes confused with monkeys, but they are not monkeys.