Pooh (Kinkajou)
Potus flavis
The kinkajou (pronounced KINK-ah-joo) is also known as
the honey bear. They are very small so are often mistaken for ferrets or
monkeys. They are closely related to raccoons. They can turn their feet
backwards in order to easily run in either direction up and down trunks or
along branches. It also has a prehensile tail (a gripping tail) that it uses
like another arm. Kinkajous will often hang from their tail, which also assists
with balance and can serve as a blanket while the animal is sleeping high in
the canopy.
Kinkajous are strictly arboreal and nocturnal. Social groups usually consist of a female and
two males but may include sub-adults and juveniles as well. Kinkajous sleep in
their dens during the day, often in a hole or fork of a tree, and generally
with members from their home group. When dusk comes, members of a group spend
time socializing and also grooming before separating to forage. Whether in a small group or alone, kinkajous
usually go the same route every night and usually keep to their own territory.
Kinkajous are primarily opportunistic frugivores, they
mostly eat fruit, including melons, apples, bananas, figs, grapes, and mangos.
They also eat nectar, berries, bark, leaves, frogs, insects, honey, birds and
eggs. Most of the moisture that they need comes from their food, though they
also drink water that has gathered on leaves or in nooks of trees.
An
older couple had Pooh as a pet in Fresno.
The husband kept very late hours for his job and so a nocturnal pet like
a kinkajou was a good fit. An in-law got into an argument with the couple and
reported Pooh to the Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, who had no choice but
to confiscate the pet since they are illegal in the state. She is housed in a much larger enclosure
better suited to her arboreal life style