CANOPY-DWELLING MAMMALS

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CARNIVORES

Carnivores (pictures | news) are found in the canopy where they thrive on the abundance of prey. For example, the coatimundi is a small carnivorous animal related to the raccoon, which feeds on worms, lizards, and grubs. The coatimundi, or coati for short, ranges from the southwest U.S. to South America and is divided into three species over its range. Male coati are solitary, but females and juveniles live in bands of 6-12. Unlike most other arboreal animals, they have reversible ankles which allow them to descend head first.

Cats are found worldwide in the tropics except for Australia and Madagascar. There are numerous small to medium-sized cats of the tropical rainforest including the well-known ocelot (neotropical), the clouded leopard (Asia), the golden cat (Africa), and the margay (neotropical). Old World rainforests have the genet, a cat-like creature of the Central African rainforest, which uses its long tail for balance in the canopy, and the palm civet, another agile climber.

MARSUPIALS

Several marsupials make their home in the canopy including opossums of the new world and tree kangaroos of New Guinea. Tree kangaroos appear to fill the niche left vacant by the absence of monkeys in the Australian realm.

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Continued / Next: Rainforest canopy birds