Muleshoe Ranch, Arizona

I first went looking for coatimundi in October, 2002. I was hiking up Hot Springs wash when I heard a sound in a nearby tree. This wasn't wind, nor was it birds, it was animal. Didn't sound like a black bear, so maybe .... I looked into the tree and saw a pair of huge eyes staring at me. Could it be? Yes, a coatimundi! As I climbed out of the wash he "flew" down the tree and ran off, but then came a second running down the tree, and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth ..... I counted 15 in all, but could have been off one or two. It was deep in the woods, poor lighting, the wrong lens, they were moving pretty fast and it was over all too quickly. I stood there helplessly hoping a photo might turn out. But no, they were indeed blurs. On the positive, it verified that coatis were around and with persistence I might find another. About an hour or so later I found this little guy sound asleep in a nearby tree, so I didn't go home empty handed. I had proof that I had found the elusive coatimundi.