Texas Tech University

WHITE-NOSED COATI
Nasua narica (Linnaeus 1766)

Order Carnivora : Family Procyonidae

DESCRIPTION. A raccoon-like carnivore, but more slender and with longer tail; snout long, slender, and projecting well beyond lower lip; five toes on each foot; tail with six or seven indistinct light bands; ears short; general color of upperparts grizzled yellowish brown, fulvous on top of head; snout and areas around eyes white, as is inside of ears; dark-brown facial band across snout between eyes and whiskers, interrupted on top of snout by extensions of white from stripe above eye; lower legs and tops of feet blackish brown; underparts pale buff, lightest (nearly white) on chin. Young similar to adults, but bands on tail more conspicuous. Molars adapted for crushing, not shearing as in most carnivores; upper canines flattened laterally, broad basally, shaped like a spear point; lower canines with a deep groove on inner face. Dental formula: I 3/3, C 1/1, Pm 4/4, M 2/2 × 2 = 40. External measurements of an adult male: total length, 1.1 m; tail, 500 mm; hind foot, 91 mm; ear, 30 mm. Weight, 4–5 kg.

Nasua narica

DESCRIPTION. Whited-nosed coatis inhabit woodland areas of the warmer parts of Central America, Mexico, and the extreme southern United States including southern Texas. Historically, they were known from the southern part of the state, from Brownsville northwest to the Big Bend region of the Trans-Pecos and east to Kerr and Victoria counties. Today they are known only from the Big Bend and Padre Island areas.

Distribution of Nasua narica

SUBSPECIES. Nasua n. molaris.

HABITS. White-nosed coatis spend considerable time on the ground but are adept at climbing trees. When in trees, their long tail seems to function in maintaining balance, as does that of a squirrel. They also occur in some of the rocky canyons that enter the mountains from the lowlands. These animals require a sizeable area of habitat to maintain a viable population.

Coatis are sociable creatures, and adult females travel in bands that may include subadult and younger coatis of both sexes. Band sizes vary, with bands of up to 40 individuals reported. Adult males are usually solitary.

Unlike their relatives, the raccoons and ringtails, white-nosed coatis are largely active by day, particularly in the early morning and late afternoon. They are omnivorous and consume a wide variety of available food, including insects and other ground-dwelling arthropods, lizards, snakes, carrion, rodents, nuts and fruits of native trees, and prickly pear. Captives have eaten bananas, milk, and bread.

Their breeding habits in the United States are not well known. Studies of coatis in tropical forests suggest that during the breeding season (spring) an adult male may temporarily join a band, but that male may not sire all of the litters from that band. The gestation period is 10–11 weeks. Before parturition, a pregnant female selects a nesting site in a tree, where she gives birth to a litter of one to six altricial young. The mother cares for the young in the nest for 4–5 weeks, at which time the mothers in a band bring their young out of the nests, and the social band is reformed.

Mortality rates are high for young coatis, particularly during the first few weeks after leaving the nest. Predation by large cats, white-faced monkeys, boa constrictors, and even adult male coatis has been reported in tropical forest populations.

POPULATION STATUS. Rare. Little is known about the life history or abundance of the white-nosed coati in Texas, and it definitely is in need of serious study. Recent Texas sightings in the Padre Island and Big Bend areas suggest that coatis may be making a comeback in the state. Rob Dean, park ranger at Big Bend National Park and naturalist, has provided us with information about 35 sightings of coatis over the past 50 years in Big Bend National Park. There were 8 sightings during 2005–2015; 14 during 1995–2004; 9 during 1985–1994; and 4 during 1975–1984. Likewise, John Karges, a naturalist with the Texas Nature Conservancy, provided information about contemporary sightings from other places outside the park, including the canyon country adjacent to the park and along the Devil's River drainage, the Davis Mountains, and from Maverick County in southern Texas. Given all of these records, it is surprising more specimens have not been obtained, but the available information seems to indicate that coatis are more common and widely distributed than previously thought.

CONSERVATION STATUS. The IUCN lists the white-nosed coati as a species of least concern, and the species is listed as threatened by the TPWD. It is not listed by the USFWS because of the relatively stable populations in southeastern Arizona. Although it is widespread throughout Mexico and Middle America, coati populations have been seriously impacted by the degradation and loss of much of the riparian woodland habitat in southern and southwestern Texas. This is a species that needs immediate monitoring.

Previous PageTable of ContentsNext Page

 

From The Mammals of Texas, Seventh Edition by David J. Schmidly and Robert D. Bradley, copyright © 1994, 2004, 2016.  Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.

Natural Science Research Laboratory