South American coati

A curious little mammal

Always on the move, the coati spends its days searching for food.

The South American coati is a small burrowing mammal belonging to the Procyonidae family, just like raccoons. Highly active and endlessly curious, it spends much of its day turning over soil, rocks and leaf litter in search of food. Although omnivorous, it has a particular fondness for fruit and invertebrates.

Its foraging behaviour plays an important ecological role by helping regulate populations of small pest species while naturally aerating the soil. The South American coati inhabits tropical and temperate forests across South America. The name “coati” comes from an Indigenous language and means “long nose”. It is also commonly known as the ring-tailed coati or common coati.

Hunted but currently facing limited conservation concerns

The South American coati is hunted for its meat by local communities but is currently classified as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is nevertheless affected by deforestation, which continues to reduce the extent of its natural habitat.

For more than 10 years, Beauval Nature has supported conservation organisations working in the field to protect wildlife. Beauval contributes to numerous conservation and research programmes around the world, helping study and safeguard threatened species every day in support of global biodiversity.