These amazing and funny animals got their name due to their nose - elongated and quite mobile. They used to be called badgers, however, when real badgers were brought to Mexico, where they live, this animal was given a different, own name.
The article provides information about nosoha: a photo of the animal, where he lives, lifestyle, etc.
General information
It should be noted that the word "nose" (coat or coatimundi) comes from the Indian Tupian. Coati translates as "belt", mun - nose.
Coati (or nosoha) - mammals belonging to the raccoon family. This funny and cute little animal resembles a fox. It lives in South and Central America. This good-natured animal is a favorite of local Indians. They are distinguished by a sociable and friendly disposition, they like to play with children and are quite easily tamed. However, farmers are more cool on noses because of the habit of these animals to visit chickens in their farmland. Therefore, they have to set traps on them and even shoot at the approaches to the farm. Fortunately, so far nothing threatens their populations - the numbers are quite large.
As a pet, it is quite acceptable to keep a nose. She is quickly and easily tamed by people.
Kinds
Naturalists from Europe, when they first saw a nose, identified about 30 species based on the behavior and color of the hair of these animals, but modern taxonomists have reduced this number to three by today. And it is quite justified.
Both morphology and behavior of noses are actually variable. Even the behavior of males and females is so different that they can be attributed to completely different species. Of course, these differences are more related to the social behavior of animals: females live in organized small groups (โclansโ) with cubs, and males live alone. The behavioral relationships in noses are also quite complex and a bit incomprehensible. For example, clan members can clean each other, as well as take care not only of their cubs, but also of strangers. Among other things, they, together with the efforts of the entire community, drive away predators.
In total, depending on the habitat, three types of noses are distinguished: coati, common and Nelson's nosha (earlier it was a separate species). Another species - mountain nosoha, found only in the north-west of South America (in the valleys of the Andes), belongs to a separate genus of mountain nosoha (Nasuella).
Habitat
Nosoha (photo of the animal is presented in the article) lives in the tropics of Central and South America. The range extends from Venezuela and Colombia to Uruguay, northern Argentina and Ecuador. On the western and eastern slopes of the Andes, they can be found up to 2500 meters. These animals perfectly adapted to live in a variety of natural conditions. They inhabit the most diverse areas: shrubbery and evergreen rain forests. These animals are found in low-lying primary forests, in rocky areas, in wooded areas of river banks and in dense shrubs. Currently, due to human influence, they prefer to settle in the forest edges and secondary forests.
Most of all, they prefer coniferous and deciduous forests of the temperate climatic zone. Winter frosts and summer heat are easily tolerated.
Description
The head of the nosoha (see photo in the article) is narrow, elongated. The muzzle ends with a surprisingly mobile nose. Small ears slightly rounded. Brown small eyes set close. There are light symmetrical spots around the nose and eyes, and dark patches are noticeable on the cheeks. The long striped tail (about 69 centimeters) used by the animal for balancing is covered with short thick fur. There are strong claws on the paws, the tips of the paws are dark. The height at the withers reaches 29 centimeters, however, the females are two times smaller in size than the males. The length of the body with the tail is 80-130 centimeters, weight - up to 6 kilograms. The color of noses is diverse: they are found with dark brown, red and grayish-brown coat color.
The life expectancy of this animal in the wild is approximately 14 years, and at home they live longer - more than 17 years.
Lifestyle, behavior
Nosoha are animals that are distinguished by activity during the whole daylight hours. They arrange their accommodation on the largest branches of trees. They go down to earth early in the morning, before dawn. The morning toilet consists in thoroughly cleaning the fur, after which they go hunting with a tail sticking up amusingly. The animal seeks food in fallen leaves, among branches and stones, which they cleverly turn over. At noon, they rest only on the hottest summer days.
Females with their cubs live in groups of about 20 individuals, and males usually stand alone. Among the males there are courageous ones trying to join groups of females, however, there, as a rule, they meet with resistance. Females make barking sounds to warn their group of imminent danger.
Nosoha are animals that communicate with each other through a rich set of sounds, developed facial expressions and signal postures. Their natural enemies are birds of prey, boas, ocelots and jaguars. In the event of danger approaching, they hide in the nearest pit or hole. In the process of escape from predators, their speed can reach up to 30 kilometers per hour. In addition, they can run up to three hours without stopping. On the calmest days, these animals slowly go around their home possessions (area from 40 to 300 ha), passing 2-7 kilometers in a day.
A bit about clan membership
Who is the legal member of the nosuh clan? Clans are supposed to be formed on the basis of blood relationship. However, in the case of noses, the results of genetic studies show that in reality the clans of these amazing animals also include non-related individuals.
Large-scale field studies that were carried out in Panama have shown that those very unrelated representatives of clans often represent an object of aggression from all other animals. They force them out of the territory of their community. And there it is quite possible to become a victim of predators. It turns out that it is more profitable for noses to be in a clan, while receiving some advantages.
Diet
Nosoha is an omnivorous animal. The diet includes various larvae, eggs, earthworms, beetles, millipedes, spiders, scorpions, ants, lizards, crabs, frogs and small rodents. They like to enjoy the fruits of various plants and ripe fruits that are picked from the ground or torn from branches.
Sometimes noses are used to examine debris near human settlements, and they are also able to steal chickens from farmers.
Breeding
As noted above, adult males live alone, and they meet with other noses only during the breeding season. At the same time, males fight among themselves for the right to mate with females of a certain group.
The mating season lasts from January to March. The duration of pregnancy is 75 days. The female equips for babies a nest in a hollow or on the ground, in a hole. She is born up to 6 cubs at a time. To keep them near her, the female makes whimpering sounds.
About newborns
Animal noses in a newborn state are helpless: blind, completely devoid of hair, weight is about 80 g. Eyes open about 10 days after birth. By 24 days of age, they have the ability to focus their eyes and walk. At 26 days, the cubs begin to climb branches. When the cubs are about 5-6 weeks old, the female returns to the family group with them. Mothers look after youth till 4 months of age.
Young females reach reproductive maturity at about 2 years, and the participation of males in breeding begins at about the age of 3 years. It should also be noted that adult males are dangerous for the young. This is due to the fact that the latter are always expelled from the family group.
Finally
Recently, more and more people have been cutting down forests where these cute and funny animals live, which is the main reason for their reduction. Nosoha quite quickly get used to people, so they are able to live near human homes. However, often people are aggressive towards noses due to the fact that they cause significant damage to farms.
Fortunately, for today there is no threat of extinction for noses, but it cannot be said that there is no reason for concern. For example, one of the subspecies, Nelsonโs nosoha (little studied), who lives in Mexico (Cozumel Island), is threatened with destruction due to rapidly developing tourism and industry, and mountain nosoha turned out to be quite sensitive to human use of lands where forests were cut down.