Nosoha animal: habitat, life cycle, origin and description with photo. Nosoha: photo and description What do nosuha eat

The name coati or coatimundi is borrowed from the language of the Tupian Indians. The prefix "coati" means "belt" and "tim" means "nose".

area: South American nosocha found in tropical regions South America: from Colombia and Venezuela to Uruguay, northern Argentina, it is also found in Ecuador.

Description: The head is narrow with a slightly upward elongated and very flexible nose. Ears are small and rounded inside with white rims. The fur is short, thick and fluffy. The tail is long, used for balance when moving. On the tail are light yellowish rings, alternating with rings of black or brown.
The South American nosoha has short and powerful paws. The ankles are very mobile, thanks to which the animals can climb down from the tree, both the front and the back end of the body. The claws on the fingers are long, the soles are bare. Thanks to strong clawed paws, nosuha successfully uses them to dig out insect larvae from under rotten logs.
The fangs are very sharp, and the molars and premolars have high and sharp edges.
Dental formula - i3/3, c1/1, p4/4, m2/2, total 40 teeth.

Color: The South American nosoha is characterized by wide color variability, not only within the range, but even among babies from the same litter.
Usually the body color varies from orange or reddish to dark brown. The muzzle is usually colored uniform brown or black. Pale, lighter spots are located above, below and behind the eyes.
The neck is yellowish. Feet are dark brown to black. The tail is two-colored, the rings are sometimes faintly visible.

Size: Body length - 73-136 cm (average 104.5 cm). Tail length - 32-69 cm. Height at withers 30 cm.

Weight: 3-6 kg (average 4.5 kg).

Lifespan: In nature 7-8 years. The maximum life span in captivity has reached 17 years and 8 months.

Voice: Females use barking vocalizations to alert their clan members to the presence of danger. They also make whimpering sounds to keep the young close to them during the weaning process.

Habitat: From shrublands to primary evergreen rainforests.
Nosukh can be found in lowland forests, wooded river areas, dense bushes and rocky areas. Thanks to human influence, they currently prefer secondary forests and forest edges. On the eastern and western slopes of the Andes mountains, they are found up to 2500 meters above sea level.

Enemies: Jaguars, cougars, ocelots, jaguarundis, as well as large birds of prey, boas. Persecuted by man for meat.

Food: South American noses are primarily omnivores and usually seek out fruits and invertebrates. They eat eggs, beetle larvae and other insects, scorpions, centipedes, spiders, ants, termites, lizards, small mammals, rodents, and even carrion when available to them.
They can be found in landfills, where they scour human garbage and select everything edible from it. Sometimes South American noses eat chickens from local farmers.

Behavior: Usually active during the day. Animals spend most of their active time foraging, and at night they sleep on trees, which also serve to equip the den and give birth to offspring.
When threatened on the ground, the noses run to the trees; when predators threaten on a tree, they easily run to the end of the branch of one tree, and then jump to the lower branch on the same or even another tree.
An analysis of the structure of the eyes of the South American coaty showed that they contain a special layer, which indicates that their daytime activities evolved from a nocturnal ancestor. In addition, the nose has been found to have color vision. Unlike kinkajou ( Potos flavus), the South American nosoha demonstrates the ability to distinguish between shades of colors.
Nosuhi are good climbers and swimmers. On the ground, they walk leisurely, although they can gallop for short distances. Their average speed of movement is approximately 1 m/s.
The anal glands have a special arrangement, and they are unique among Carnivora. They are a glandular area located along the upper edge of the anus, containing a series of bags that open with four or five slits on the sides. The fatty secretion secreted from these glands is used to mark the territory.

social structure: Female South American Nosoha live in groups of 4-20 individuals, sometimes up to 30 animals. Such a group includes several sexually mature females, the rest of the members are their immature cubs. These groups are very mobile, as the nosoha move a lot in search of food. Males lead a solitary life and only during the mating season join the family groups of females. Shortly after mating, they leave the group.
Each family group has its own territory, which is usually about 1 km in diameter. Home lots of different groups may partially overlap. South American coats in such groups participate in social grooming, and are more protected from enemies than single individuals.

reproduction: In the mating season, one male is accepted into the group of females and young. All sexually mature females living in the group mate with him.
The period of growing offspring is timed to the time of fruit ripening.

Season/breeding period: October-March, young people are born in April-June.

Puberty: In females at 2 years, in males - about 3 years.

Pregnancy: 74-77 days.

Offspring: In a litter, a South American nosukha usually has 3-7 (average 5) cubs.
The female gives birth to her offspring in a den, which she equips in isolated tree hollows, for which time she leaves her social group.
Newborn cubs are helpless: they have no hair, they are blind and weigh only 75-80 grams. The eyes open at about 10 days. At the age of 24 days, young coats can already walk and focus their eyes. At 26 days, the cubs are able to climb, they switch to thick food at the age of 4 months.
When the cubs are five to six weeks old, the female returns to her family group.

Benefit / harm to humans: South American nosy helps control the population of some types of harmful insects. They (as prey) provide food for a number of predators, and are probably important in dispersing the seeds of some plant species.
Rough noses occasionally cause damage while harvesting fruit, and have also been known to attack poultry.

Population/conservation status: In Uruguay, South American coats are protected by Appendix III of the CITES Convention.
The main threats to this species are: intrusion into its habitats (clearing for the mining industry, extraction of timber, etc.) and hunting.

Ten subspecies are currently recognized: Nasua nasua boliviensis, Nasua nasua candace, Nasua nasua dorsalis, Nasua nasua manium, Nasua nasua montana, Nasua nasua nasua, Nasua nasua quichua, Nasua solitaria, Nasua nasua spadicea, Nasua nasua vittata.

The animal known as coati is scientifically called coati (coatimundi or coat). This name came from the words of the Indian language Tupian - coati, meaning "belt", and mun, which translates as "nose". Nosukha this animal of the raccoon family was nicknamed because of the movable, trunk-like nose. Inside it are sensitive receptors responsible for recognizing odors. A huge number of muscles makes this "process" very flexible, because coati examine natural recesses in search of food with it.

Nose types:

1. Nasua nasua (Common nosoha);
2. Nasua narica (Coati);
3. Nasuella olivacea (Mountain nosoha);
4. Nasua nelsoni (Nelson's coat).

Finding photos of representatives of each species is not difficult.

It is a subspecies of the common coat (Nasua nasua Linnaeus). It is distinguished by a narrow head with a flexible movable nose directed upwards. Small round ears on the outside have white rims. The muzzle is brown or black. Slightly above and slightly below the eyes, as well as behind them there are light spots. The neck is yellowish. All the features of this cute animal are visible in his photo.

Short and powerful legs have movable ankles. This gives the animal the opportunity to climb down from the tree with either end of the body down. The fingers have long claws, and the soles of the paws are bare. The color of the legs is black or dark brown. Such limbs provide advantages in climbing trees and foraging in the soil. The tail of the animal is long, two-colored, with yellowish, black or brown rings.

Coatis are good divers and swimmers due to the webbing between their fingers. The noses are very clean, they rinse their prey, paws and tail in the water, as soon as they are on the shore of the reservoir.

The body of the South American coat is from 73 to 136 cm in length, and the tail is from 32 to 69 centimeters. When moving, it is always kept straight, although the upper tip is slightly curved. Height at the shoulders - 30 centimeters. The coati weighs 4.5 kg, however, large six-kilogram individuals can also be found. The entire body of the animal is covered with short, warm and fluffy fur.

Among the enemies of noses, the most annoying cats are cougars, jaguars, ocelots. In addition, they are not "friends" with large birds. Life span in natural conditions - 7–8 years, and in captivity almost 18.

Lifestyle

Animals are active throughout the day. During the day they look for food, and at night they settle in the trees for the night. By the way, in the same place, in a well-equipped den, their offspring are born.

In general, the noses feel quite free on the trees. There they hide from the danger threatening from the ground, and easily jump from branch to branch if the danger is also “on top”. But coati walk leisurely, move at a gallop for short distances. They do this in a very unusual way - first they lean on the palms of their forelimbs, and then roll forward with their hind limbs. average speed movement - 1 m per second.

A feature of animals is the various vocalizations they publish:

• chirping;
• whimpering;
• screams;
• grunt;
• snoring.

With their help, coatis communicate.

The fangs of the animal are blade-like, and the molars have sharp tubercles. In total, the animal has 40 teeth in its mouth. Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to count them in the photo, but the data of animal researchers is worth trusting!

Nutrition

Nosuha is an omnivore. Her menu includes:

Nosuhi are also found in landfills, where they rummage through the remains of garbage. Also can steal chickens from farms.

Nosuha takes biting insects with its front paws and rolls on the ground in order to separate the sting in this way. She presses large prey with her paws to the surface and kills with a bite to the neck.

Way of life

The way of life of animals is different depending on the sex. Females live in groups of 4 to 20 individuals. Composition - several sexually mature females with cubs. Groups are highly mobile, traveling long distances in search of food. Behavioral relationships in a group are complex. Remotely, they resemble the communication of primates. For example, clan members clean each other, care for cubs together, and drive away enemies. There are many touching photos where animals care for each other.

Each family group lives in his territory. Its diameter is, as a rule, 1 square kilometer. Nosuha in such groups are less endangered than individual individuals. To warn about her, the female uses barking sounds. They mark their territory with a fatty secretion secreted by the anal glands and urine. When an outsider invades, coatis will fight using their claws and fangs.

Anal glands are different special structure. This is a glandular area running along the upper edge of the anus, which contains a series of bags that open with four or five slits from the sides.

In the heat, noses prefer shade. When it subsides, they go hunting. In this case, the nosukha can travel up to 2 km. Young people spend time in games. At night, animals climb to the tops of trees, hiding from most predators.

reproduction

The lifestyle of males is solitary. They join groups of females with young animals only on mating season. It continues October to March. Males actively compete for females. Teeth are shown to the opponent and a threatening position is taken - lifting on hind legs with the end of the muzzle raised up. Only the strongest remain in the group. All sexually mature females mate with him, after which he leaves her. By the ripening of the fruits, when food is the most, there is a period of growing cubs.

Pregnancy lasts 74-77 days, after which 3 to 7 babies are born. At this time, the female leaves the group. She equips a nest in a hollow, where the offspring will be until such time as they can not walk and climb trees.

Newborns lack hair, vision, and they weigh from 70 to 85 grams. Eyes open only by 10 days of life. At 24 days, young coats are able to walk and focus their eyes, and at 26 they can climb trees. At 4 months old, they begin to eat thick food. The female with cubs returns to the group when they are 5-6 weeks old. To keep the young near her during the period of weaning, she "whines". Finally, this happens by 4 months. Up to this point, the coat is nursing the younger generation. Females are considered sexually mature at 2 years old, and males at 3. You can find a photo of a newborn animal on the Internet.

You can “get acquainted” with the South American nosoha in the South American tropics - from Colombia and Venezuela to Uruguay, Ecuador and northern Argentina. The mountain dwells on the eastern and southern slopes of the Andes, however, up to a height of 2500 meters.

Nosuh clan membership and social behavior

What qualities must individuals have in order to be accepted into the clan? It should be noted that it is not always formed based family ties . True, the “foreign” representatives of the group suffer more often than others from the aggression of its other members. They are forced out to the outskirts of the territory of the group, where it is easiest to be in the clutches of a predator. However, it is more profitable for noses to remain in a group and receive advantages than to be singles.

Unusually, resettlement occurs: females rarely leave the group in which they were born. Males, on the other hand, do this in the third year of life, however, they remain on the territory of the clan. They almost do not protect their habitat, except for places rich in food. Territories of groups of females and cubs, as well as mature males, can overlap by 66%, and only the core is used only by the main group.

conservation in nature

Despite the fact that most species of coatis are not endangered, there are reasons for concern. Nelson's nose, living on the island of Cozumel in Mexico, due to the development of industry and tourism threatened with extinction, and mountain noses are very sensitive to deforestation and human use of land.

These animals are protected by the Sites III Convention in Uruguay. The main dangers for them are hunting and human penetration into their habitats. To date, 10 subspecies of Nasua nasua have been recognized and described.

nosuha animal

Nosoha, or coati, are representatives of a genus of small-sized mammals belonging to the raccoon family. The predator has become widespread on the territory of both American continents. His Spanish, French and English name"coati" animals owe one of the Indian local languages.

Description of the coat

The noses got their unusual and very original name thanks to a small and rather mobile proboscis formed by an elongated nose and the frontal part of the animal's upper lip. The average body length of an adult animal varies between 41-67 cm, with a tail length of 32-69 cm. The maximum weight of a sexually mature individual, as a rule, does not exceed 10-11 kg.

The anal glands of the coat are distinguished by a special arrangement, unique among the representatives of Carnivora. A peculiar glandular area, located along the upper part of the anus, contains a series of so-called bags, opening with four and even five special cuts on the sides. The fatty secret secreted by such glands is actively used by animals to mark their territory.

Appearance

The most common South American nose is characterized by the presence of a narrow head with an elongated and noticeably upward, incredibly flexible and mobile nose. The ears of a predatory mammal are small, rounded, with white rims on the inside. The neck is pale yellowish. The muzzle area of ​​such an animal, as a rule, has a uniform brown or black color. Lighter, pale spots are located above and below, slightly behind the eyes. The fangs are blade-like and the molars have sharp cusps.

This is interesting! Russian anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky called nosuhi "ideal candidates for intelligence", which is due to the tree image life, as well as sociality and well-developed limbs.

The legs of the coat are short and rather powerful, with very mobile and well-developed ankles. Thanks to this feature, the predator is able to climb down from the trees not only with the front, but also with the rear end of its body. The claws located on the fingers are long. The feet have bare soles.

It is the strong clawed paws that allow the noses to easily climb various trees. In addition, the limbs are quite successfully used by a predator to search for food in the soil or forest litter. As a rule, the legs of the coat are dark brown or black in color.

The body area of ​​the animal is covered with relatively short, thick and rather fluffy fur. The South American noses are characterized by a wide variability in coloration, which manifests itself not only within the habitat or distribution area, but even in cubs belonging to the same litter. Most often, the body color varies from slightly orange or reddish hues to dark brown. The tail of the nose is long and two-colored, with the presence of fairly light yellowish rings, alternating with brown or black rings. In some individuals, the rings in the tail area are barely visible.

Lifestyle, behavior

Nosoha are animals that are active only during daylight hours. For lodging and rest, the predator chooses the largest branches of trees, where coatis feel safe.

A rather cautious animal descends to the ground in the early morning hours, even before dawn. During the morning toilet, a thorough cleaning of the fur and muzzle is performed, after which the coat goes hunting.

This is interesting! An interesting fact is that noses are animals that use a rich set of all kinds of sounds, developed facial expressions and special signal poses to communicate with each other.

Females with their offspring prefer to stay in groups, the total number of which is two dozen individuals. Adult males most often lead a solitary lifestyle, but the most courageous of them often try to join a group of females and are rebuffed. At the same time, females warn their group of any approaching danger with rather loud, characteristic barking sounds.

How long do noses live

The average life expectancy of a predatory mammal is no more than twelve years, but there are also individuals who live up to the age of seventeen.

sexual dimorphism

The females of the coaty become sexually mature by the age of two, and the males start breeding after reaching the age of three years. Adult males are almost twice as large as mature females.

Types of coats

The genus Nosuch includes three main species and one that occurs exclusively in the Andean valleys, in the northwestern part of South America. This view of this moment assigned to a separate genus Nasuella. The mountain nose belongs to a separate genus, whose representatives are distinguished by a very characteristic shortened tail, as well as the presence of a small head, which is more laterally compressed. Such animals are quite easily tamed by humans, so they may well be kept as exotic pets.

This is interesting! For each of the groups of noses in natural environment habitat is fixed a certain territory, the diameter of which is about one kilometer, but such "allotments" often overlap slightly.

Common nose (Nasua nasua) is represented by thirteen subspecies. This predatory mammal lives at an altitude of up to two thousand meters above sea level and is larger in size. For an adult ordinary coat, a light brown color is characteristic.

Nelson's nose is the representative of the genus with the darkest color and the presence white spot in the neck area. The coloration of an adult animal is characterized by a similarity of noticeable gray hair on the shoulders and forelimbs. The coati species is characterized by the presence of white "rims" on the ears. There are also light-colored spots in the area around the eyes, due to which they have a vertically elongated appearance. There is a yellowish spot on the neck of representatives of the species.

Range, habitats

Nosoha live in North and South America, as well as on nearby islands. The mountain nose inhabits the Andes, which, by their territorial affiliation, belong to Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.

Representatives of a rather numerous species of coati are found on the territory of South America, therefore they are known as the South American species. The main populations of such a predatory mammal are concentrated mainly in Argentina.

This is interesting! As the practice of observations shows, most of all representatives of raccoon like to settle in coniferous forest areas belonging to the temperate climate zone.

Nelson's nose is an inhabitant exclusively of the island of Cozumel, located in the Caribbean Sea and belonging to the territory of Mexico. Representatives common type are common animals North America. According to scientists, nosoha, differently than very many other animals, relate to a rich diversity. climatic zones. For example, coatis have adapted perfectly to even the driest pampas, as well as to humid tropical forest areas.

Nosuha diet

Small-sized mammals belonging to the raccoon family obtain food with the help of an extremely mobile and long nose that moves. In the process of such stirring, through the noticeably flaring nostrils, air currents actively break out, due to which the foliage scatters and various insects become visible.

In the standard diet of medium-sized predatory mammals includes:

• termites;
• ants;
• spiders;
• scorpions;
• all kinds of beetles;
• insect larvae;
• lizards;
• frogs;
• not too large rodents.

This is interesting! Nosoha are usually engaged in search for food in whole groups, without fail notifying all participants in the search about the discovery of food with a rather highly raised vertical tail and a very characteristic vocal whistle.

Sometimes adult coatis prey on land crabs. Nosoha habitually and very deftly clamp any of their prey between their front paws, after which the neck or head is bitten through the victim with sufficiently sharp teeth. In the absence of food of animal origin, the noses are quite capable of satisfying the need for food with fruits, carrion, as well as various garbage from garbage dumps and the human table.

Systematics

Russian name - Nosuha (coati)

Latin name - Nasua nasua

English title - South American coati, ring-tailed coati, Brown-nosed coati

Family - Raccoon ( Procyonidae)

Genus - Nosuhi ( Nasua)

These South American raccoons got their name from the elongated nose, which, together with the front of the upper lip, forms a movable proboscis.

The status of the species in nature

The species is listed in the International Red Book as Least Concern - UICN (LC), as it has an extensive range and is common in places with unchanged biotopes. Population density varies greatly in different regions. There are no serious threats, but the number of the species probably tends to gradually decrease as a result of hunting. local residents on noses and deforestation, leading to habitat loss and range reduction.

View and person

The local name coati is supposedly derived from the language of the Tupian Indians. Kua means "belt" Tim- nose, and in general the name reflects the habit of animals to sleep with their nose in their stomach. Russian and latin name the animals received thanks to the movable elongated nose.

Residents of the places where the noses live are sympathetic to sociable animals. True, the habit of visiting chicken coops forces the peasants to set traps on them and shoot them.

Distribution and habitats

The noses are widely distributed mainly in South America from Colombia and Venezuela in the north to Uruguay and northern Argentina in the south. They live mainly in tropical forests, shrub thickets, semi-deserts, are found in the foothills and mountain forests of the eastern and western slopes of the Andes, rising to a height of 2500 meters above sea level.

Appearance

Compared to other raccoons, noses are quite large animals. Their body length is from 40 to 70 cm. The length of the tail is from 30 to 70 cm. The height at the withers is 30 cm. The body weight is from 3 to 6 kg.

A characteristic feature of the nose is a narrow head with a strongly elongated movable nose. Ears are small and rounded. The tail is long, rather thin, with black and light rings.

The body is covered with reddish-brown fur, although the coloration may be darker or lighter even among cubs in the same litter. The muzzle is dark brown or black. There are light spots around the eyes and on the throat.

The paws are not very high, with long sensitive fingers and long claws, with the help of which the animal not only deftly climbs, but also digs the ground, digging up insect larvae. The hind limbs are longer than the forelimbs and with movable ankles, which allow the nosukha to descend from the trees upside down. Nosuha moves along the ground, leaning on the palms of the front paws and the feet of the hind legs.

Lifestyle and social behavior

Nosoha are mainly forest animals that lead a diurnal lifestyle. They perfectly climb trees, jump from branch to branch. They spend the night in the trees. However, animals spend quite a lot of time on the ground. They walk rather slowly, sometimes running for short distances with a kind of gallop. With a long proboscis, noses are examined forest floor in search of food.

Nosoha live in groups of 4-5 to 20 animals. Such a group includes adult (2 years and older) females and their cubs of both sexes under the age of one year. Groups move around a lot and can cover long distances in search of food. Adult males stay alone, and join the group during the mating season. There are complex relationships between members of the group - animals clean each other, sometimes devoting an hour or more a day to this activity, look for food together, and drive away enemies together.

Family groups each occupy their own territory, which is approximately 1 square kilometer. They mark their territory with urine and odorous secretions from their anal glands, and attack an intruder if they try to invade. However, areas of different groups may partially overlap.

Feeding and feeding behavior

Like many raccoons, noses are omnivorous, but they prefer animal food. Their diet includes insects and other arthropods, including centipedes, scorpions, and spiders. They seek out food by rummaging through the forest floor with their noses and puffing up fallen leaves. love and vegetable food preferring ripe fruits. Less commonly, their prey can be vertebrate animals - frogs, lizards, small mammals. Do not disdain noses and carrion.

Vocalization

The sounds made by noses in different situations are very diverse.

Females make barking sounds to warn the group of danger. For babies, they use other sounds that resemble whimpers or whines. In addition, the rich "repertoire" of noses includes sounds similar to bird chirping, grunting, sniffing and snoring.

The word "coat" (coatimundi or coat) comes from the Indian language Tupian: "coati" means "belt", "mun" means "nose". Animals belong to the raccoon family.

The noses got their name due to their movable trunk-shaped nose. Their head is narrow, their hair is short, their ears are round and small. On the edge of the inner side of the ears is a white rim. Nosuha - the owner of a very long tail, which is almost always in a vertical position. With the help of the tail, the animal balances when moving. The characteristic color of the tail is the alternation of light yellow, brown and black rings.

Coloring nosuh varied: from orange to dark brown. The muzzle is usually a uniform black or brown. On the muzzle, below and above the eyes, there are light spots. The neck is yellowish, the paws are painted black or dark brown.

flickr/tenia2008

The body is elongated, the paws are strong with five fingers and non-retractable claws. With its claws, the nosuha digs the ground, getting food. The hind legs are longer than the front. The length of the body from the nose to the tip of the tail is 80-130 cm, the length of the tail itself is 32-69 cm. The height at the withers is about 20-29 cm. They weigh about 3-5 kg. In such animals, the male is twice as large as the female.

live coats on average 7-8 years, but in captivity they can live up to 14 years. They live in tropical and subtropical forests South America and southern USA. Their favorite place is dense bushes, low-lying forests, rocky terrain. Due to human intervention Lately noses prefer forest edges and clearings.

flickr/PaPeR.cLiP

They spend most of their time foraging for food. Nosoha are omnivorous animals. Their diet includes fruits, insect larvae, eggs, scorpions, spiders, termites, ants. Sometimes they are not averse to eating lizards, rodents.

Nosoha live both in groups and alone. In groups of 5-6 individuals, sometimes their number reaches 40. In groups there are only females and young males. Adult males live alone. The reason for this is their aggressive attitude towards babies. They are expelled from the group and only return to mate.

flickr/Martyn F65

Mating season is from January to March. During the mating season, males gather near the group. Only one male is accepted per group. That's why they fight among themselves. The strongest wins. Females mate only with a chosen male. After mating, the male is kicked out.

Pregnancy lasts for 77 days. By the end of pregnancy, the female begins to equip the nest for offspring. Usually it is arranged in hollows, between stones, in earthen pits. The offspring of the coat brings 2-6 pieces once a year.

Cubs weigh 100-200 grams. For some time, the cubs remain in the nest, and then, together with their mother, they join the group. Only the females take care of the babies. Young males remain in the group until the age of two, and upon reaching it, they are expelled.

To warn the group of danger, females make barking sounds. And in order to keep the cubs near her, the female uses whimpering sounds.

Enemies of noses are predators such as jaguars, boas, as well as predator birds. But the main enemy is the man who hunts them. Sometimes nosukha harms poultry farming, field crops, penetrating farms. Animals are quite curious creatures and have excellent appetites.