Animals in Trees: Coatimundi

One of my favorite animals to photograph is the Coatimundi. 

The first photo gives the idea of how adept Coatis are in going from tree to tree. Coatis can weigh up to 18 pounds (versus about 2 pounds for a squirrel). Yet they move from tree to tree as if they were as light as a feather.

Coatimundi in the Galiuro Mountains

Coatimundi sleeping

I played hide-n-seek with this Coati for 20 minutes or more

Another sleeping Coati

Coati in the Chiricahua Mountains

Noah's Coati

Just before my trip to Yellowstone, my grandson Noah and I stayed at Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains for two nights. Noah is 11. One morning, he wanted to sleep in and just rest from all the activities he's been involved with this summer. So I went out on my own looking for Coatis and Bears.

I returned to the cabin four hours later -- not having seen either a Bear or Coati -- and heard the following story from Noah:

"Granddaddy, I was sitting in a chair in the living room when I heard the screen door open and shut. I looked up and saw an animal trying to get in the cabin. He had a really long furry tail. (I knew right away what it was)."

So, Noah got up, used his notebook's camera, and took video of the Coati for the next couple of minutes.  The Coati continued to try to get in but then upon seeing Noah so close, ran up the tree right off the patio. Then Noah saw my iPhone on the kitchen table so took the following photos with my iPhone. When the Coati realized Noah just wanted photographs, he came down from the tree and wandered around in back of the cabin. More video for Noah.

He may be a Wildlife Photographer in the making:

Coatimundi - IV

One more "5" Star Coatimundi photo today. This one was a young Coati, (mother was still around with two other youngsters). But this one was very curious. Maybe I was the first human he had ever seen and didn't know what I was. Very "sweet" looking. I was able to get several photos of him while all the others ran away. The event happen in the Galiuro Mountains of Southeastern Arizona.

White Nosed Coati

Coatimundi III

Here is another case where a Coati came to me. I was sitting at Cave Creek Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains photographing birds when this Coati came wandering through. As you can see he looked at me, let me take quite a few photos, and then climbed a nearby tree and started eating from the bird feeder. Love the detail and the expression on his face.

White Nosed Coati

Coatimundi II

Back to my "5" Star Photos and the Coatimundi (White Nosed Coati). In some cases you search and search and can't seem to find what you are looking for. And, in other cases  ... they come to you. Such is the case with today's photo. I had been searching for a couple of hours for Coatis in the Galiuro Mountains of Southeastern Arizona. I got to an area where I had seen them before but none were around (that I knew of). So, I decided it was time for lunch and sat down on a fallen tree. About half way through my lunch I heard a noise behind me. I turned around and this is exactly what I saw:

White Nosed Coati

I had my camera next to me so just picked it up and turn around while still sitting on the tree trunk. After about 10 seconds of starring at each other he ran off. It was a wonderful 10 seconds.  And, produce a wonderful photo.

Coatimundi

We come to one of my favorite animals to photograph -- the Coatimundi or White-Nosed Coati. This is a wonderful, curious animal slightly larger than its cousin, the raccoon. Males can weigh up to 27 pounds and 44 inches in length (24 inches of that the tail). The Coati inhabits wooded areas in both dry and wet climates. In Arizona they tend to like riparian areas with access to water. Their range is from Southeast Arizona and Southwest New Mexico, throughout Mexico and Central America to Northwestern Columbia. They are omnivores, preferring small vertebrates, fruits, carrion, insects, and eggs. They can climb trees easily, where the tail is used for balance. I have seen them move from tree top to tree top just like squirrels.  They are most often on the ground foraging. Their predators include boas, raptors bobcats, mountain lions, and jaguars. They readily adapt to human presence; like raccoons, they will raid campsites and trash receptacles (More so in Mexico and Central America). While the raccoon and ringtail are nocturnal, coatis are active day or night. They will sleep  in caves,  high in trees or hallowed out tree trunks that have fallen.  Adult males are solitary, but females and sexually immature males form social groups. Several times I have seen groups of 15-20 of them, although reports of 40 or more exist. They are quite intelligent and can be domesticated easily. This photo was taken in the Galiuro Mountains of Southeasstern Arizona.

Coatimundi

Coatimundi IV

Our son Matt and his wife Ashley, who live in Hawaii, came to see us a couple of years ago. Christine and I took them on a hike in the Galiuro Mountains looking for Coatis. Now Rung, as we call her, is from Thailand and had never seen a Coati. And, as was the case in a previous trip to British Columbia where she spotted a Black Bear, she was the one to spot a Coati family. The photo below was one of the youngsters who seemed just as interested in me as I was of him. Just a precious little animal -- much like Rung herself.

Coati

Coatimundi III

On another trip into the Galiuro Mountains I was again looking for Coatis. I went into the Cottonwood grove I mentioned yesterday, but didn't see any Coatis. Nonetheless, I thought it was the perfect place for my lunch. So, I sat down on a fallen tree trunk, pulled out my lunch and started eating. The Galiuro Mountains are a true wilderness, peaceful, quiet, and remote. So, I sat listening to the breeze through the trees and the occasional birdsong. But then wait, that sounds like the shuffling of leaves. I turned around and there no more than 15 feet from me was a Coati staring at me in just the position you see below. I put down my sandwich, picked up my camera which was next to me, and turned and photographed. As you can tell from the angle I did not get up either. After a few wonderful -- but brief -- moments he ran away. But what a wonderful surprise!

Coati

Coatimundi II

I was hiking in the Galiuro Mountains hoping to find Coatis when off to my left high up in some cottonwood trees I saw a Coati moving from tree top to tree top as if he were a squirrel. This is an animal that can weigh up to 20 pounds! I bushwhacked over toward where he was but ended up stopping in the middle of a grove of  cottonwoods. There to my surprise -- and amazement -- were a couple dozen Coatis in the trees surrounding me. I had my telephoto lens on the camera having just shot a photo from a distance (the first photo below).  There wasn't much I could do, as they all started running down the trees and off into the thicket. So, instead of trying to change lenses and take a photo I just watched this wonderful waterfall of Coatis.  The second photo is on another occasion finding a Coati fast asleep in a tree.

Young coati at Muleshoe

Our oldest son, Matt lives in Hawaii with his lovely wife, Rung (who is from Bangkok). We don't see them nearly as often as we would like, but several years ago just after they were married we took them on a wildlife photo trip into British Columbia and Alberta. As it turned out Rung was quite a "wildlife spotter." I remember once we were driving along and I heard this sweet soft voice from the back seat saying "I think that was a bear." So, we backed up and to my surprise (because I am the "expert" and I missed it) was a black bear standing up looking at us. Well, two years ago they came here to Tucson and we took a little trip into the Galiuro Mountains and Muleshoe Ranch. Once again she was the one who spotted a family of coatis. This little guy was most curious and posed for me for several minutes. A wonderful experience thanks to Rung. I do love the Galiuros --- Rung, too.

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.

Coatimundi at Muleshoe Ranch, Arizona

One of my favorite day trips is to Muleshoe Ranch in the Galiuro Mountains, near Willcox, Arizona. Muleshoe Ranch is a cooperative wilderness area jointly owned by Muleshoe Ranch, the Nature Conservancy, and the BLM. There is 30 miles of gravel road to get to the small visitor's center and then 14 more miles (four wheel drive only) to get to Jackson's Cabin. This 14 mile stretch for which you must sign in and out to enter is as rough as any back road you might ever encounter. The payoff is beautiful mountains, valleys, and canyons with bighorn sheep, black bear, mountain lions, and lots else. I should add that I rarely ever see any human beings whether I am hiking in this area or even driving up to the cabin. What I have found and photographed are bobcats, javelinas, mule deer, white tail deer, gila monsters, hooded skunk, stripped skunk, antelope jackrabbits, lots of birds, lots of butterflies, and my favorite: the coatimundi -- or, coati for short. Coatis are playful and curious little animals a little bigger than a raccoon. Story One: I was hiking along hot springs wash checking out the cottonwood groves on either side of the wash. The coatis can be in the trees or scrounging around the ground for ants or insects. Eventually I reached a grove where I had seen coatis before. Not seeing any, I thought this would make a lovely place for my lunch, anyway. So, I am sitting on a log eating a sandwich when I hear some noise behind me. I turn around and 15 feet from me is the coati as he is in the above photo. I never knew whether he was in the tree and was coming down -- or, he was just arriving and wanted to go up the tree. None the less, he and I looked at each other for a couple of minutes after which he decided to depart. It's one of my favorite photos.