Current Status and Distribution of the Coati in the United States
1976; Oxford University Press; Volume: 57; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/1379435
ISSN1545-1542
AutoresJohn H. Kaufmann, Dirk V. Lanning, Sue Poole,
Tópico(s)Microbial infections and disease research
ResumoCoatis have been in the montane border country of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico for more than 80 years. Their numbers and range in the United States have fluctuated. The highest known population occurred in the late 1950's, followed by a precipitous decline caused apparently by canine distemper or a similar disease. Since that time there has been a slow, irregular recovery. The biology of coatis in the U.S. is similar to that described previously in Panama, but with important differences in the much drier and cooler habitat. Coatis are opportunistic omnivores in all habitats, eating whatever fruits, invertebrates, and small vertebrates are easily obtained. Females and immature males live in bands whereas the adult males are usually solitary, but at the northern margin of the species' range, adult males may more often accompany bands. Coatis in the U.S. have relatively large home ranges and may be semi-nomadic. They have been seen most commonly at elevations of 1400 to 2000 meters. Coatis are preeminently woodland and forest inhabitants, and their distribution in the U.S. coincides almost exactly with that of the Madrean Evergreen Woodland which extends into the mountains of southern Arizona and New Mexico from the Sierra Madre of Mexico. Coatis breed from the Animas Mountains in southwestern New Mexico west to the Baboquivari Mountains in Arizona, and north as far as the Gila River. Marginal records from north of the Gila are from occasional wanderers or released captives. There is no evidence that coatis in the U.S. are currently expanding their breeding range or approaching the population levels of the late 1950's. Their numbers and spread are limited by some combination of aridity, cold, disease, and unsuitable plant cover and food resources. Discovering the coatis' role in the natural environment of the southwestern U.S. will require the combined efforts of many people; the Coati Study Project has been formed to coordinate these studies.
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