00:01Hi, my name is Josh Crabtree. I'm with the Phoenix Zoo, and I have with me today Pippin, who's a
00:06kinkajou.
00:07Kinkajous are sometimes called sugar bears, but don't let his looks fool you. He is not part of the bear
00:13family.
00:13He's actually most closely related to a raccoon. Some of the differences, though, he's got a long prehensile tail.
00:20That's a grasping tail he can hold on to things with. He also has very flexible paws that allows him
00:26to grab his food,
00:27turn it around, get to all the good stuff, and he can actually turn his hind feet all the way
00:32backwards 180 degrees
00:34so that he can climb down a tree head first. Most animals have to scoot down the tree bottom first,
00:40but not kinkajous.
00:41These animals are found down in the rainforests of Central and South America, and they are a nocturnal animal,
00:48sleeping during the day, coming out at night, and being most active when they're trying to find their favorite foods,
00:53all kinds of things like fruits and flowers. Kinkajous are one of the few carnivores out there that are considered
01:00a pollinator.
01:01Even though they eat some meat, most of their diet is going to be fruits and flowers that they find
01:05in the rainforest,
01:06so they help a lot with the diversity of plant life in the rainforest.
01:11Thanks for hanging out with us today and learning about kinkajous.
01:15Kinkajous.
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