Kinkajous!
By Kira
Habitat
Kinkajous live in the rain forests of Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America. They spend most of their lives in the Canopy Layer, using their long, prehensile tails to grab branches.
What They Look Like
Kinkajous have fur colored red brown to tan. They have webbed fingers and sharp claws, which they use to pluck and eat fruit. They also have long, narrow tongues for licking honey from beehives. Female kinkajous give birth to one small baby. Baby kinkajous are blind when they are born, but can grab things with their prehensile tails.
Special Skills
Kinkajous have a very keen sense of hearing, and can detect the movement of a snake. They can also turn their feet in the opposite direction and run backward. They run backward as fast as they run forward.
Food, Food, and More Food!
Kinkajous are omnivores. They will eat almost anything, including honey, flower nectar, fruit, insects, small mammals, and birds. Predators of the kinkajou include ocelots, foxes, jaguarundies, jaguars, margays, and tayras.
Communication
Kinkajous communicate mainly by scent. They have scent glands near their mouth, on their throat, and on their belly. Kinkajous also communicate by making grunting and growling sounds.
Fun Facts!
1. "Kinkajou" comes from the word for "honey bear"
2. Kinkajous are one of the only carnivores to have prehensile tails
3. Kinkajous can hang by their tail, then turn their body in a way so they can climb up it!
4. Kinkajous are called "Night Walkers" in Belize
5. During the day, kinkajous sleep in hollow trees
6. Kinkajous are nocturnal