Meet the White-Nosed Coati

Have you ever wished to take a walk through the wooded wilderness of Central America? It’s an amazing place to discover, and the place where you’re very likely to find a really curious creature sporting a mishmash of characteristics. 

But what is this creature? Let me describe it to you: a twitchy snout, banded tail, and distinctive facial markings, make the famous the white-nosed coati a common beauty located in the forests and woodlands from the southern US to northern South America. They’re really amazing and lovely to watch! Besides that, the jungles of Central America are one of their favorite playgrounds. Their role in the environment is also vital, and at Paso Pacifico, we recognize the white-nosed coati’s vital importance to the overall health of Mesoamerica’s wild ecosystems.

What Is a White-Nosed Coati? 

The white-nosed coati, like many of its New World relatives, is puzzling to place at first glance. Its form resembles a badger’s, though it has the frame of a mid-sized dog. Its snout is as agile as a possum’s, yet its long, banded tail calls to mind a lemur. All of these features lead to a simple question: where exactly does it belong?

The answer may be found in one of the white-nosed coati’s colloquial names: the hog-nosed raccoon. Yes! That’s right! This precise animal belongs to the identical mammalian family as raccoons called Procyonidae. The Procyonidae is a family from the Carnivora that doesn’t simply include coatis and raccoons, but also kinkajous, ringtails, olingos, olinguitos, and cacomistles. There’s another important thing you should know about this: the members of the Procyonidae family are found solely in the Americas!

There are four different species of coati, or coatimundi, with the white-nosed coatimundi as the most common. The animal’s name comes from the Tupian Indian language of Amazonian tribes, and roughly translates to belt-nose. “Coati” means belt and “tim” means nose in Tupian. 

This species of hog-nosed raccoons earned their name from their adorable habit of tucking their noses under their bellies or into their “belts” when they sleep.

Physical Description

The difference between the white-nosed coati and other coati species boils down to appearance and size. Their coats are mostly grayish brown and shot through with silver. So, let’s learn some coati traits, shall we?

What really makes white-tailed coatis stand out from other coatis are the distinctive white markings on their faces. There is a white band just above the nose, giving the animal its name. It also has white spots below the eyes and on its cheeks. Moreover, the throat and underbelly may have touches of white coloration.

White-nosed coatis are one of the largest coati species. The average body length of a white-nosed coati is 3.6 feet while the average weight is between nine and 13 pounds. 

However, coatis display distinct sexual dimorphism. Mature males are usually much larger than females, reaching lengths of up to 4.3 feet and body masses of up to 27 pounds. The coatis’ long tails comprise roughly half of their total body length.

In another instance of borrowed traits from other mammals, coatis have the plantigrade feet and curved claws of bears. Like raccoons, their forelimbs are shorter than their hindlimbs, giving the coatis their signature sloping gait.

Habitat and Range

Did you know that he white-nosed coati is the sole coati species native to North and Central America? That’s right! Their populations usually live in areas across the southern U.S. states. For example: Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas! But it stretches through Central America and even reaches as far south as Colombia and Panama, covering a lot of range!

Although primarily a ground-dwelling creature, the white-nosed coati favors wooded environments, often inhabiting tropical and subtropical forests or open woodlands. Generally, these animals steer clear of open grasslands, gravitating toward regions with ample tree cover within their natural range.

Behavior and Diet

Let’s talk a bit about their diet and behavior! Where do these beautiful animals live? That’s a very simple answer: they do it in wooded areas since they use trees as shelter. As diurnal animals, it’s really, really important to have a safe spot to sleep during the night. In addition, thanks to their bear-like paws and long curved claws, they pair up nicely with their raccoon-like trait of being able to rotate their ankles 180 degrees. 

These two qualities make coatimundis strong climbers.  They put these skills to use each night when they climb the trees for safety.

During the day, white-nosed coatis search the forest floor for food. So, what does a white-nosed coati eat? Well, they are generalist omnivores, ingesting small prey like insects, frogs, and rodents. But they can also happily feast on fruits and root vegetables. 

When coatis are on the hunt, they prowl around with their noses to the ground, sniffing out prey. Their flexible noses can rotate 60 degrees in any direction.

Female coatis and juvenile males are social, gregarious animals. They sleep, hunt, forage, and raise their young together in troops that can number anywhere between four and 30 members. White-nosed coatis can recognize individuals in their troop by their markings and strong-smelling musk glands on their necks and bellies. Coatis are extremely vocal. They communicate with each other with a range of chirps, snorts, and grunts.

In the Tupian language, coatimundi means “the lone coati.” This name was given because the male coatis become solitary as they approach maturity, leaving the troop and striking out on their own.

Reproduction and Development

Once the males leave, they will spend their time alone until the breeding season comes around. During the rainy months from January to March, males will approach troops of females. The ones who become accepted into the troop stay with them for the duration of the breeding season, mating with multiple females in the troop. 

Coatis have 11-week pregnancies. At the end of gestation, females leave their troops and set up a secure den for their offspring. A white-nosed coati baby is called a kit or kitten, and there are between two and seven born in each litter. 

Female kits reach sexual maturity in around two years while the males do so in around three. In the wild, white-nosed coatis tend to live for approximately seven to nine years.

Threats To the White-Nosed Coati

Across their range, there are many coati predators that would like to make a meal of them. Jaguars, pumas, foxes, and dogs are some of the most known white-nosed coati predators. They also have to be on watch for hawks and eagles. 

Strong jaws and sharp teeth usually give them a good advantage for defense, along with their bear-like paws. This makes them ferocious, and most likely to not go down without putting up a good fight against their predators! This is why some predators learn to avoid them as prey.

Human threats to the white-nosed coati are much more pressing. Though it is listed as a Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, it is endangered in some areas of its range like New Mexico. 

Another threat is habitat loss. Fewer habitable regions are isolating white-nosed coati populations and reducing genetic diversity. 

Farmers also sometimes kill coatis because they dig for insects, which can ruin crops. Additionally, some people involved in the exotic animal trade keep coatis as pets.

Why White-Nosed Coatis Don’t Make Good Pets

Because of their social nature, some people might look at white-nosed coatis and wonder: Are coati friendly to humans? Mayan folklore depicts the coati as a friendly helper who helps the Mayan Hero Twins defeat the gods of the underworld in a ballgame. Still, no matter how friendly they are in the myths, coatis do not make great pets.

The white-nosed coati is a wild animal with strong instincts. Because of this, they are difficult to litter-train and nearly impossible to keep indoors. Coatis are wide-roaming animals that need spacious outdoor enclosures and a level of care that most pet owners cannot provide.

Paso Pacifico: Bringing Coatis and Communities Together

While they shouldn’t be kept as pets, encountering a coati in the wild is a special experience. Through Paso Pacifico’s Junior Rangers project, schoolchildren in Central America get the opportunity to witness coatis up close in their natural habitats. 

It’s all part of our mission to get the next generation more involved in conserving the wealth of Central America’s ecosystems. Species like the white-nosed coati are the star of the show!

You can help Paso Pasifico preserve crucial wildlife corridors where coatis and other wildlife live by making a donation.