by Laurie Childree

Created on: April 28, 2009

Kinkajou (Potos flavus) pronounced KINK ah joo make their home in the tropical forests of both Central and South America's tropical rain forests.

Most of their time is spent in trees and they possess the ability to turn their feet completely around so they can run up and down the trunks and along the branches in any direction. The gripping tail of the kinkajous allow them to use it as an extra arm to hang; it also helps to balance them and doubles as a blanket.

While they have traits and features of primates the kinkajous are actually relatives of the raccoon. They have earned the nickname of honey bears due to the raiding of bees' nests they do. They will take honey from the hives with their long, skinny tongues which are also used to free their nests from insects. Small mammals are caught by the kinkajous with sharp claws on their front paws, they also eat fruit. Roaming and eating is done at night, when morning arrives they will sleep in tree holes they have used before.

The kinkajou drinks the nectar from flowers and are considered to be pollinators as they go from flower to flower taking the pollen with them. They will eat small vertebrates, eggs and hatch lings on occasion.

The kinkajous are seventeen to twenty-two inches including the head and body with the tail being sixteen to twenty-two inches in length. They only weight three to seven pounds and live in groups called a troop.

Kinkajous participate in reciprocal grooming and other social interactions within treetop groups. While they are rarely seen they can be heard barking and screeching since they are very vocal animals. This trait gained them the Spanish nickname of la llorona which translates to 'the crying woman.'

During the spring or summer one offspring is born to the female of the kinkajous species. The eyes of the babies are shut and they aren't able to see for one month; although by the time they are two months old they can hang upside down by their tails. The babies begin eating solid food when the eyes open at about two weeks. The female kinkajou takes complete responsibility in the caring of her young.

The kinkajous aren't on the endangered species list yet but they are in danger. They are hunted for both meat and fur by poachers. The kinkajous are also wanted for trading as exotic pets however they don't make good pets because they truly are wild animals. They can destroy a home during the night and their bite is extremely painful.

Sources:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammal s/kinkajou.html
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-kinkajou.ht ml

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