CHAPTER VII. 



THE SMALLER CARNIVORA. 



The Coatis. 



THE Coatis arc small arboreal creatures, with the habits of a raccoon and squirrel 

 fairly proportioned! They are flesh-eaters, but active and playful. Their long pig- 

 like snouts give them an unpleasant appearance. They inhabil Mexico and Central 

 and South America as far as Paraguay. Several specimens are generally to be seen at the 

 Zoological Gardens. Their habits are much the same as those of the small tree climbing cats, 

 but with something of the badger added, tnsects and worms, as well as birds and small 

 animals, form their food. 



The Tax has and Kinkajou. 



Among the small carnivorous mammals the Bear-cat, or Panda, is a very interesting crea- 

 ture. Its colour is striking — a beautiful red-chestnut above, the lower surface jet-black, the tail 

 long and ringed. The quality of the fur is tine also. It is found in the Eastern Himalaya, and 

 i- as large as a badger. The Gkkat Panda, from Eastern Tibet, is a much larger, short-tailed, 

 black-and-white animal, once thought to be a bear. The Kinkajou has a prehensile tail, and 

 uses its paws as hands so readily that it was formerly placed among the lemurs. It is a native 

 of Southern and intertropical America. Nocturnal, and living in the great forests, it is seldom 



seen by man. Its head is 

 round and cat-like, its feet 

 are the same, but with non- 

 retractile claws, and it has a 

 long, full tail. It has a long 

 tongue, with which it can lick 

 out insects from the crevices 

 and holes of trees. Baron 

 von Humboldt says that it 

 attacks the nests of wild bees. 

 It uses its tongue to draw 

 objects of food towards it, 

 even if they are not living. 

 A pleasant description of this 

 animal appeared in Charles 

 Knight's "Museum of Ani- 

 mated Nature," published 

 many years ago: "In its as- 

 GREAT PANDA pect there is something of 



This very rare animal is found on the high plateau of Tibet gentleness and good-nature. 



"5 



