Meet the Animal Park's Kinkajous
Potos flavus
Kaya
Raul
About Kinkajous
NATIVE RANGE
Kinkajous live in Southern Mexico and Central and South America in rainforests, tropical evergreen forests, and some dry forests.
DIET
Although kinkajous are classified as carnivores (they have canine teeth), they operate as omnivores, with their diet consisting primarily of fruit and nectar; they also eat small mammals, which they snare with their nimble front paws and sharp claws.
BEHAVIOR
Arboreal and nocturnal. Their social structure is considered to be “solitary group-life,” or non-social gregarious (an individual spends most of its time alone, but may join others when feeding).
FASCINATING FACTS
- Kinkajous are important pollinators. As they travel from flower to flower to ingest nectar and pollen, the pollen sticks to their face and then smears off at the next flower.
- They are sometimes called “honey bears” because of the color of their coat, not because they raid bees’ nests (though humans have given them honey in captivity and they like it).
- Kinkajous can hang by the tip of their strong tail, then turn their body in such a way that they can climb back up their own tail.
