White-nosed Coati, Nasua narica. Photograph taken in the coastal region of Costa Rica, February 2016. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

White-nosed Coati, Nasua narica. Photograph taken in the greater Zihuantanejo area, Guerrero, March 2019. Photograph courtesy of Ron Woheau, Zihuantanejo.

The White-nosed Coati, >Nasua narica, is a member of the Procynoidae Family of tree-climbing mammals which includes raccoons, coatis, olingos, New World ringtails, cacomistles, and kinkajous. The Procyonidae Family consists of thirteen species placed into five genera. There are three species in the Nasua genus. They are known in Mexico as Coatí Norteño.

White-nosed Coati are grayish brown in color with streaks of silver fur on the sides of their forelimbs. Their snout is long and pointed with a flexible end. Their face is marked with a white band near the end of their nose, a white spot above and below their eyes, and one white spot on each cheek. Touches of white are also present on the underside of their belly and throat. Their tail is tapered, covered with black rings, and is held erect while walking. Their feet are black with naked soles and their forefeet have bent claws. White-nosed Coati are plantigrade, meaning they walk on the soles of their feet, with shorter forelegs than hindlegs. They measure between 80 cm (2 feet 7 inches) and 1.1 m (3 feet 7 inches) in length, with about half the length being their exceedingly long tail. Sexual dimorphism is displayed with males reaching a much larger size than females. The males weigh between 4.0 kg (8 lbs 13 oz) and 12.2 kg (26 lbs 13 oz), while the females can weigh as little as 2.5 kg (5 lbs 8 oz).

While they are sometimes active at night, White-nosed Coatis are primarily diurnal. Their days are spent on the ground foraging, while their nights are spent in the treetops sheltered from most predation. Males are solitary and establish ranges by marking an area with urine or by dragging their abdomens on a surface and spreading anal secretions. Male ranges do not overlap, and they will fight any other males they encounter. The females and the sexually immature males reside in social groups of up to thirty individuals that maintain home ranges about 1 km (0.6 miles) in diameter. Home ranges for these groups often overlap one another. A single band’s range also includes the areas of several adult males. Besides protection of the young from predators, these groups are beneficial for several reasons. Grooming and nursing is provided by both the mother of the young and other females equally. These relationships take time to develop, but once the bond is established between members they are loyal to one another. New groups arise from the splitting of previous bands, which explains the lack of aggression between neighboring groups.

White-nosed Coatis communicate through vocalizations, visual displays, tactical displays, and scent marking. While their range of vocalizations is relatively complex, they can be separated into contact calls, alarm and aggressive calls, and male courtship calls. Contact calls occur amongst group members and include chitters, short high-pitched chirps, grunts, chuckling, and “chop-chop” sounds. Alarm and aggressive calls are much louder and include squeals, squawks, grunts, and growls. To the human ear, male courtship calls sound similar to the alarm calls but repeated for several minutes. While the young are able to produce most adult vocal patterns, they seldom do. Visual displays are generally described as nose up, head-down, and tail switching. Nose up displays are exhibited during agonistic interactions and consist of the snout turned up, lips curled to expose teeth, and mouth opened. This is often accompanied by chittering or squealing vocalizations. Head-down displays are, as the name implies, when the individual points their head down at the ground. This appears to be a submissive posture given to dominant individuals or when males interact with breeding females. Tail switching is when the tail is whipped back and forth parallel to the ground, likely as an alarm reaction or signal. Gentle tactile communication is also common amongst group members, such as nuzzling and physical contact while resting. Additionally, individuals commonly groom one another using their front teeth and claws. While scent marking is most commonly done by males, both sexes scent mark. This is accomplished by spraying urine or spreading anal secretions onto trees, rocks, logs, and vines.

White-nosed Coati mate between January and March, when the males leave their solitary lifestyle and compete for access to females. Dominant males join social groups and warn off competing males by baring their teeth, rearing up on their hind legs, and exhibiting nose-up displays. Mating can occur in a tree or on the ground. Once a male has mated with the females of a social group he is forced to leave, as males are known to kill juveniles. Gestation lasts up to seventy-seven days. A few days before giving birth, females separate from their groups and make a nest. These are constructed in the tops of trees or where tree trunks branch. They build nests by bending branches toward the nest site, biting off small branches, and/or gathering fronds from trees adjacent to the nest site. Some females will also give birth in a rocky den. Each female delivers between two to seven pups. The newborn pups weigh only 100 g (3.5 oz) to 180 g (6.3 oz) and are completely dependent on their mother, who only leaves the nest to find food. Pups open their eyes after eleven days and are weaned after four months. After five months the mother and her young leave the nest and rejoin their social group. A little while later, the male that mated with the group will return for a short time to recognize his young, before disappearing again. Juveniles reach their adult body size after fifteen months. Sexual maturity is reached at three years of age in males and two years of age in females. In the wild, they can live up to fourteen years.

White-nosed Coatis are omnivores and their diet consists of carrion, ants, beetles, centipedes, land crabs, grubs, scorpions, spiders, and termites. Additionally, they will consume seasonal fruits and small vertebrates including frogs, lizards, mice, and snakes. They are known to travel over a mile in one day in search of food. In turn, they are preyed upon by boas, cats, raptors and tayras. When threatened, they will either flee and escape into trees, or utilize their claws and sharp canines for defense. This species is also known to cause crop damage and to raid campsites and trash receptacles.

The White-nosed Coati may be confused with the Mountain Coati, Nasuella olivacea, and the Ring-tailed Coati, >Nasua nasua, due to their similar appearances and overlapping ranges. Both of these species lack the distinct white muzzle markings present on the White-nosed Coati.

From a conservation perspective, the White-nosed Coati is currently considered to be of Least Concern. Although they are locally threatened as a result of ongoing habitat loss and hunting, they are not declining at a rate sufficient to qualify as Near Threatened. Populations in the United States are suspected to be losing genetic contact with populations further south, potentially leading to extirpation of these individuals. White-nosed Coatis are hunted throughout their range for skin and food. Although, their fur has little to no value. Occasionally they are caught in traps set for other species, killed by hunters seemingly looking for other species, or fall victim to ‘predator’ control campaigns. They are also sometimes captured and kept as exotic pets. Additionally, they are susceptible to canine distemper and rabies.