Kinkajou

Submitted on October 12th, 2006 by Tortuga.
Subgroups: Akumal Mexico and Riviera Maya articles.

This world is big and wild and half insane
Take me where real animals are playing – The Kinks

Kinkajou

Fozzie the kinkajou is playful, docile, and sweet, but he can smell fruit in our casita a mile away!

After living in the busy metropolis of Cancun for 3 years, we decided to make the move to a quiet casita in the jungle. Jack and I were excited about the peaceful mornings in our jungle garden, the jungle views right outside of our kitchen window and watching the sunrise through jungle trees from our bed. It was like relocating to a bed and breakfast in the country! Upon moving in, the property owner welcomed us and warned that sometimes jungle sounds take some getting used to.

“It may make it difficult to sleep the first few nights,” he cautioned. We just smiled and assured him we were ready for our new life in the jungle.

After unloading and unpacking what seemed to be an endless number of boxes, we had no doubt we would sleep soundly our first night in the casita – the jungle had other ideas. As soon as our heads hit the pillows our ears perked up and began trying to identify unfamiliar noises.

“Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
“What was it?”
“I have no idea.” After an hour of this type of verbal exchange, our little dog began to bark. Noises were coming from the kitchen - inside the house. Jack got out of bed, put on his glasses and moved slowly toward the sounds in the next room. He flipped the light switch.

“What the h—? Honey, we have a monkey on our dining room table.” Talk about things you never thought you would say!
I walked into the room and found a fuzzy, long-tailed, short eared, bug-eyed creature sitting in my fruit bowl feasting on apples.

“That is not a monkey, dear. It is a kinkajou!” I had seen an animal like this one years ago while working for an exotic pet vet. Luckily, I remembered they were docile by nature despite the sharp teeth and long claws. As a matter of fact, the animal was so involved with his evening meal he didn’t show much interest in us at all – even when Jack started shooing him with a broom. Because he did not want to leave, and we were clueless as to how to make our uninvited guest exit, we simply opened the front door and waited until he had finished every last apple.

Now Fozzie is a regular visitor to our home and we have even petted him without objection. As Jack and I sit and watch our jungle friend eat his favorite meal, an apple and banana fruit salad, we can’t help but wonder what other surprises the jungle has in store for us.

Kinkajou Facts

• Lifespan of 20 to 25 years
• Live in the treetops of warm humid lowland rainforests of Mexico, Central and South America
• Nocturnal creatures
• Like to eat fruits, honey and eggs
• Their tongues can grow up to 6 inches long
• Name in Maya is akabmaax
• Have an excellent sense of smell but poor eyesight
• Cousin of the raccoon
• Have fully prehensile grasping tails, which can be used like an extra “hand” when climbing.
• Personalities are often playful, yet docile and sweet.

Read more about the kinkajou in the Wikipedia.

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