A day in the life of Miyagi the coati

First thing in the morning Miyagi wakes up and starts to wonder around looking for food.  He has a large and flexible nose, with which he can smell very well, making it excellent for foraging, even in small spaces between roots or rocks. His fur is yellowish brown and black on his snout and paws. He also has a long ringed tail that he uses for balance when he climbs into trees.

Unfortunately he doesn´t find anything because his breakfast didn´t arrive yet.

The coatis are family of the racoons and there are different species, depending where they are from. Miyagi is a Nasua nasua and this species come from South America.

What does he eat?

Finally at 9 in the morning, the caretakers of the zoo bring him breakfast and scatter it around. We do this to provide some natural stimulus. It takes him more time to find the food and he uses his nose. What is there on the menu today? Some carrots, sweet potato, apple and special pellets for extra vitamins and minerals.

Not every day he get the same things, sometimes there are grapes (which he really likes), melon, water melon, eggs, meat, mealworms, pear or any other kind of fruit.

When he finishes his food he looks a bit more around the enclosure to make sure that he didn´t forget any last piece of carrot or apple. Afterwards, he climbs onto the big stone structure in the enclosure and takes a nap.

 

Afternoon activities

The rest of the day you don´t see him that often, because he prefers to stay hidden when there are a lot of people around. But when I pass by and call him, he appears from his hidden spot and looks if I bring something exciting for him.

In the afternoon I normally prepare some enrichment with his favourite food (grapes or mealworms) and I spent some time inside the enclosure cleaning and changing the water of his pond. The enrichment that I give him is designed especially for him, in a way that he can use his nose, paws and intellect.

At bedtime…

at the end of the day when I do the last checking of the animals, I normally find him already inside his wooden house rolled up and prepared to go to sleep. When I pass by his enclosure he squeaks, almost as if he wants to say goodbye. He gives me a last look through the entrance of his house to see if I am really going or maybe I changed my mind and bring him a last treat.

Like all the coatis, Miyagi is active during the day and sleeps at night. He has a very thick fur that keeps him warm, but to make sure that he doesn´t get cold during the night we provide him with a house that has traw and hay inside.