Animals
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KinkajouThe kinkajou is closely related to the racoon, and also appears very similiar to oppossums living in Australia and New Zealand. It lives in trees, with a long prehensile tale which it uses to grip branches, and a long slender body covered in honey-brown or dark-brown fur. It has sharp powerful claws used for climbing trees, and a cat-like face. It's tail is almost as long as its body, and kinkajou frequently exceed a metre in total length. Like the racoon and oppossum, the kinkajou is nocturnal – it sleeps during the day, and forages for food at night. Generally it eats whatever is available: fruit, bark, leaves, tree frogs, eggs, insects, and even small birds. Since water can be often be found in small leaf pools or tree crotchs, the kinkajou hardly (if ever) needs to descend to the ground. They are usually solitary creatures, though they can sometimes befound in pairs. Local people describe the kinkajou as gentle, and say that they can easily be tamed as pets. They are also reasonably intelligent, learning to open cupboards, bottles, undo hooks and press levers – especially if these actions result in finding food. Kinkajou play an important role in the pollination of some plants. The kinkajou has a long flexible tongue which it uses to drink nectar from flowers. As it does this, pollen from the flowers sticks to its face and then is deposited on other plants as the kinkajou moves around the forest canopy. It also disperses seeds. Kinkajous live over a wide area, extending from Mexico, down through Central America, and into the Amazon bain. Unfortunately, the numbers are now rapidly declining are a result of fur hunting and habitat loss. |
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