What Type Of Animal Is A Kinkajou?

As with many small mammals in South America, kinkajous live in trees, hang by their tails and love to eat fruit and honey. However, they are not primates. Actually more closely-related to raccoons, kinkajous are one of only two members of the Carnivora order with prehensile tails, the other being the binturong.

Fully-grown kinkajous weigh 3-10lbs and have a total body length of 16-24 inches. In addition, their powerful tails may equal or exceed their bodies in length. Kinkajous have five toes on each foot and possess the ability to turn their back feet backwards. This allows them to descend trees headfirst.

Despite being considered carnivores, most of the kinkajou’s diet is made up of ripe fruit such as figs as well as honey. Small mammals, insects, and eggs are also eaten as well as flowers and nectar. The kinkajou’s particular feeding habits make it an important plant pollinator in the rainforest ecosystem.

Kinkajous live in the rainforest canopy ranging from southern Mexico to much of South America. They are nocturnal animals that usually forage alone in the dark of night, returning to sleep in tree holes with a family unit during daylight hours. Kinkajous can live for well over twenty years.

Kinkajous Swinging on Trees

Kinkajous live in tropical forests, but are actually closely related to the raccoon. They spend most of their time in trees, swinging from tree to tree with their tails that they use as another arm. Because they spend most of their time in trees, they have the ability to turn their feet backwards. That way they can run in both directions on tree trunks and limbs.

Unusual Animals: Jerboa and Kinkajou

The Jerboa's long, powerful back legs make this mouse-sized rodent a jumping wonder—it can leap ten feet in a single bound. Fortunately, its long tail helps it balance. A jerboa never drinks, relying only on the moisture found in the bugs and plants that it eats. It lives in deserts and salt marshes throughout Norther Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.



With its slim dark body and clever paws, you can see that the kinkajou is related to our raccoon. The kinkajou's long grasping tail helps it travel around its home in the rainforest trees. Although its diet is varied, its love of honey earned it the nickname "honey-bear."

Not a ferret or a monkey

The Kinkajou from Central and South America is also known as the Honey Bear, Sugar Bear, or Cat-Monkey. An adult only weighs 4 to 7 pounds! These noctural mammals primarily eat fruit. Kinkajous have a prehensile tail.


That long tongue is useful for getting nectar.