What In the World Is a Kinkajou? | National Geographic

the tangled layers of the rainforest
canopy contain a wide variety of
ecological niches many creatures have
evolved to exploit them one such
creature is the kinkajou at first glance
it might be mistaken for a lemur or some
other kind of primate but it is actually
a member of the carnival recorder its
closest relatives include the coati and
the raccoon but whereas the raccoon
ambles on the ground the kinkajou spends
almost its entire life high up in the
trees with its sharp claws and
prehensile tail it moves easily from
branch to branch its back feet can
reverse direction 180 degrees allowing
the kinkajou to hang upside down as it
searches for food unlike its carnivorous
cousins the kinkajou feeds almost
exclusively on fruit any seeds that it
drops or swallows are scattered across
the forest floor in this way the
kinkajous play an important part in seed
dispersal but it also plays an
ecological role normally reserved for
bats birds and insects with its nose
buried deep inside a flower it gorges on
nectar once finished its nose is covered
with pollen that will be deposited in
the next flower in this way it acts as a
pollinator the only member of the
carnivore order to do so
it has become a keystone species
promoting the well-being of its
ecosystem through its own Gwaltney a
remarkable achievement from one of the
many creatures of the rainforest canopy