Vineto Hooker, age 13, of Dallas, Texas, for his question:
What is a kinkajou?
The kinkajou is also called the honey bear. The little charmer is no relative of the bear but he certainly is a honey. He is a cousin of the raccoon and coati, though he has no Mardi Gras mask on his face. As a pet he is oven more cuddly and affectionate than a young raccoon.
Fully grown, the body of a kinkajou may be 20 inches long, plus another 22 inches of strong furry tail. His eyes are large and bright and his face has a sweet pussycat expression. His light body and his long tail are covered with dense silky fur. He is the same color all over, either tan or golden brown.
The pretty kinkajou is a tree dweller and rarely, if ever, sets foot on the ground. His home is in tropical forests ranging from southern Mexico to Brazil. The charming fellow is a native of the New World. If you saw him frisking among the trees you might mistake him for a playful monkey.
The most remarkable feature of the Kinkajou is his long, furry tail. It is a prehensile, or graspingstail. The furry fellow is very proud of his strong tail and he makes good use of it. One of his favorite tricks is to hang by his tail upside down from a tree. This trick is very annoying to the kinkajou’s meat‑eating enemies on the ground. There he hangs, upside down and safe in his tree, daring them to climb up and get him.
The raccoon enjoys a mixed diet of meat, fruit, eggs, nuts and salads. Not for the kinkajou. This little fellow is a strict vegetarian. He thrives on tropical fruit which is always plentiful in his bungle horie. His favorite dish is wild figs. He hangs by his tail and gathers a fig with his furry paws. He bites a hole in the skin and uses his tongue to scoop out the pulpy inside. This delicate dining may need two or even four paws and the pretty creature may eat his dinner while hanging by his tail.
The big, sparkling eyes of the kinkajou suggest that he is a night prowler, able to see in the dim light. And this is true. During daylight hours he finds a hollow tree or a safe, cozy spot among the foliage. There he sleeps, curled in a furry ball with his tail wrapped around him.
Mrs. Kinkajou gives birth to two to four babies at a time. They are blind, helpless little black bundles of life. They open their eyes when they are ten days old but they do not develop strong kinkajou tails until seven weeks. At this age the youngsters begin a playful, frolicsome life among the trees. With luck, they may live their happy lives for from ten to twenty years.