Meet Our Animals

Kinkajou

Kinkajou (Potos flavus)
Range: Central and South America
Status: Not threatened

Kinkajous are native to Central and South America. They are related to coatimundi and raccoons. While relatively common, they are rarely seen and poorly understood due to their strongly nocturnal and arboreal nature. Recent research shows that despite being carnivores (based on tooth structure and evolutionary relationships), they eat mostly eggs, fruit, and flower nectar. There is some evidence kinkajous have an unusual social structure where males stay with the family group and “inherit” the territory while females move out.

Kinkajous are sometimes kept as pets. Although they are small and not very aggressive, their nocturnal nature, their specialized diet and their playfulness (which could be translated as destructiveness if their toys are your valuable household furnishings) make them more challenging than domestic animals. They also tend to get a bit nippy in adulthood.

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