Kay Anderson, age 12, of Washington, Ill., for her question:
What is a coati?
The coati, pronounced ko‑att‑tee, is a cousin of our handsome racoon. He ranges South of the Border and is sometimes seen in the southwestern United States. The two cousins bear a strong family resemblance, though the coati is not so good looking as the racoon. Both wear dark Mardi Gras masks over their faces. The racoon has a gentle, puzzled expression, the coati has a rather sharp expression. This expression is due to his most remarkable feature, which is a very long pointed nose.
Both animals wear tails banded with dark garters. But the coati's tail is less bushy than the racoon’s. However, he seems very proud of it. For when he hunts, he wears it straight up in the air. Coatis tend to hunt in groups. Several mothers and their children prowl around together, each carrying a jaunty tail like a flag going into battle.
In his native home, the coati is also called the nasua. Both his names arise from his most remarkable nose. Nasua means simply, the nose. The name coati was given him by the Tupi Indians. In their language it means nose‑belt. The furry little fellow sleeps curled in a ball with his nose tucked in where his belt would be if he had one.
Whether he is called nasua or coati, Mr. Nosey certainly lives up to his name. When on the prowl, he pokes his long snout under stones, into burrows and into birds nests. He is interested in everything for he enjoys a very mixed diet. He eats frogs, lizards and other small reptiles. He is a splendid climber and up in the trees he raids bird's nests and gobbles up the eggs. For dessert he enjoys all kinds of berries and seeds. All this food is fine. But of all the food in the world, the coati prefers rats, mice and other rodents. This puts him high on the list of useful animals.
The coati lives where the noonday sun is hot. And the smart fellow never exerts himself during the heat of the day. This is when he takes his siesta and earns his name coati, nose‑belt. Hunting, playing and prowling occupy his morning and evening hours.
Like most small animals, Mr. Nosey is usually ready to make friends with human beings. In his native home he is often adopted and becomes a house pet. And wherever he lives, he earns his keep. For he quickly rids the place of rats and mice. The little fellow is about the size of a spaniel and has a pair of dainty, five‑fingered hands. Like the racoon, he is always ready to help himself to a tasty morsel. But both these animals are so charming and useful that we can forgive them a little thieving.
The cousins belong to the Procyonidae family of animals, which means before‑the‑dog. As a class, these animals are rated a little less advanced than the dog. One of the family is the so‑called miner's cat of the southwest. This animal is a great friend of the lonely prospector for he keeps the camp free of rats and mica. Two Procyonidae cousins live in Asia. One is a smallish, catlike animal. The other is, of all things, the giant panda of Tibet.