New Residents at the Creation Museum

Two new sociable animals have moved into our petting zoo on the grounds of the Creation Museum. Coatimundis are ring-tailed creatures and members of the raccoon kind. I’ve been told that unlike their North American cousins, they are active during the day (mostly twilight—early morning and evening). Coatimundis are usually found in Central and South America, but their range does reach into Arizona as well.

Our zoo’s coatimundis are actually two different species: a white nose coatimundi (although most of his snout is black) and a mountain coati.

The white nose coatimundi is pictured here:

The rest of the photos are of the mountain coatimundi:

But they are obviously from the same created kind. (For a description of what an animal kind is, see “Variety Within Created Kinds.”)

When you visit the petting zoo, you may notice that coatimundis (called “coatis” for short) are often very active and curious. In the wild, they are quite comfortable staying in trees, where they sleep, hunt, breed, and nest. They eat most anything they can get, both on the ground and in the trees: insects, fruit, lizards, frogs, other small animals, and eggs.

At the petting zoo, they enjoy checking out our visitors and will come right up to the screen to greet some of curious guests. Our petting zoo staff tell me that while some people keep them as pets, it’s like having a “two-year-old child that never rests—very active, demanding, and extremely agile,” and that the word “mischief” describes them.

For more information about this unique creation-themed zoo, see the zoo museum page.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken