THE KINKAJOU. 



179 



of a Coati reminds one strongly of that of a small dark-coloured Pig pulled out until the muzzle waa 

 two or three times its ordinary length. The snout is, moreover, very flexible, and the animal 

 perpetually turns it about in various directions in a highly inquisitive way. The body is somewhat 

 over half a yard in length, the tail a little shorter. 



The fur is short and of a reddish or greyish-brown colour, the muzzle and feet are black, the tail 



L 



ringed with black and brownish-yellow. Like the Racoon, it feeds upon fruit, insects, small birds, &c., 

 and, like it, is a good climber. The specimens in the Zoological Gardens are in a constant state ot 

 activity, trotting about from one end of the cage to another, climbing over the tree trunk placed in their 

 pi-ison, and turning their queer-looking snouts about ceaselessly. The geographical range of the Coati 

 extends from Mexico in the north to Paraguay in the south. 



THE KINKAJOU.* 



Looking merely at the exterior of this animal, one would almost feel inclined to place it, as some 

 of the earlier naturalists did, among the Lemurs : for, like them, it has a prehensile tail, one which can 

 be coiled around branches to help its progress, precisely like that of a New World Monkey. It will 

 be remembered that one member of the Civet family, the Binturong (p. 95), presents a similar 

 peculiarity. But the Binturong's tail is a comparatively 

 imperfect organ, merely prehensile at the tip, while that of 

 the Kinkajou can be readily coiled two or three times round 

 a branch. We thus see that the same remarkable adaptation 

 to ai'boreal life which is found in the whole group of New 

 World Monkeys appears in one species from each of two 

 distinct families of Carnivores, one of which is confined to 

 the Old World, while the other exists only in the New 

 World. And we shall see the same character crop up once 

 more, when we come to the group of pouched animals (Mar- 

 supials), in the American Opossums. It must, of course, 

 be clearly understood that the possession of a prehensile tail is no sign whatever of any relationship 

 between the animals possessing it. It may be taken as certain that it was produced quite separately 

 in all the four cases we have mentioned in relation to the habits of the animal. 



The Kinkajou uses its paws in a wonderfully hand-like manner, and employs both fore and hind 

 feet to bring food to its mouth. It will also nold a piece of bread in one hand, and break off pieces from 

 it with the other, and this in spite of the fact that it has no opposable thumb, and that its fingers are 



SCULL OF KINKAJOU. 



Cercoleptes caudivolwlw. 



