Mysterious Kinkajou: The Honey Bear

Im Maddy and you are about to learn about the mysterious Kinkajou. Imagine that you are in the tropical and mysterious Amazon Jungle. You see a flash in the trees, it can’t be a monkey, to small. But, it looks kind of like a monkey and it looks kind of like a ferret, it is nicknamed the Honey Bear. It’s the Kinkajou! But, what is a kinkajou? It is related to a racoon, its diet is unique to its species, as well as its habitat and what it looks like. All of its features and behaviors help it survive, and create a shroud of mystery, when studying this mysterious animal of South America. The Kinkajous diet includes a series of fruit, bugs, nectar from flowers, and very rarely honey throughout the Amazon. Since most of the fruit is high off the ground and up in the Amazons major trees, the Kinkajou uses its long tail to grasp branches while climbing. Sometimes it is very rare but the Kinkajou will eat honey. This could possibly be why the Kinkajous nickname is “ Honey Bear” along with its golden fur. The bugs on the ground along with the flowers are easier to get. The Kinkajou uses its five inch long tongue to scoop up bugs inside of trees or in the ground. Its tongue is also a good resource on getting nectar from the flowers. It puts its tongue into the flower and licks the necter up sort of like a bee or a wasp.

The kinkajou can weigh up to 3.1 to 10 lbs ( pounds) and the adult body length is 40 to 60 cm ( 16 to 24 in) In addition to body length, the tail length is 40-60cm ( 16-24in). They have a prehensile tail and powerful, grasping, backward turning feet to give them great agility in the Amazon trees. They have a long tongue that can be up to about 13 centimeters ( 5 inches)in length and use this to drink nectar from flowers. The kinkajou is not an endangered species, though it is seldom seen by people because of its strict nocturnal habits. (looks like