Kinkajou
Potos flavus
Makushi name: Kuikui
Creole name: Honey Bear, Night Monkey
Size: body=55 cm; tail=50 cm; weight=3 kg
Description: Medium sized carnivore, with some resemblance to a monkey or long-tailed bear. Golden-brown above, cream or yellow below; tail prehensile, tapering to a dark tip that is usually wrapped around a branch. Face short and broad with widely spaced, rounded ears and large eyes. Easily confused with Olingo which has a non-tapered, nonprehensile tail and a grey head. Eyeshine bright orange.
Activity: Nocturnal and arboreal, seldom descends to the ground.
Habits: Usually solitary but sometimes in small groups. It may feed in the same tree with Olingos or opossums. The Kinkajou is less active than the Olingo, and is one of the most often seen nocturnal arboreal mammals. It can be located by sounds of falling leaves as it moves noisily through the trees; when caught in a light it often remains motionless for several minutes. During the day it rests in tree hollows or on branches. The diet is mainly fruit, supplemented with nectar, insects (including ants), and small vertebrates such as mice and bats. It can sometimes be located by calls, including a short, barking “wick-wick-wick,” or a low moaning cry.
Habitat: Common in all types of forest, also found in second growth and agricultural areas with sufficient trees.
Signs: Tracks are five-toed, about 40 mm wide, with large foot pads and claw marks close to the toe pads; tracks seldom encountered due to arboreal habits (but more common than those of Olingos).
Status: Common.
Distribution in Iwokrama