My Pizote

A white-nosed coati is a species of coati and a member of the raccoon family.  Pizote is a local name for this same animal.  They can be found in southeastern Arizona and New Mexico to as far south as Ecuador.  They are omnivores....meaning they eat small vertebrates, fruits, insects and eggs.  They can easily climb trees, where the tail is used for balance, but they are most often on the ground foraging.  They readily adapt to human presence, and like raccoons, they will raid campsites and trash receptacles.  They can be domesticated easily.

While a raccoon is nocturnal, pizotes are active by day, retiring during the night to a specific tree and descending at dawn to begin their daily search for food.  Adult males are solitary, but females form social groups.  Because of this information - according to Wikipedia - MY pizote is male.

I don't have a name for him.  I just call him "Pizote".  I see him about once a week walking across the top of the wall behind my house.  I always have fruit and whatever I have, he gets. I just toss it close to my back yard and here he comes.  Bananas are the favorite.  Yesterday, all I had was apples.  I swear, he didn't really know what to do with it and actually had a hard time figuring out how to eat it.  It was very interesting, but he managed to come down the wall, pick up the half I had tossed, take it back up to the top of the wall and sat there eating it while I enjoyed a cup of coffee in his presence.  Then......he took a nap.  It was so cute :)

The photos include other pizotes from times past.  My most favorite were the ones who hung out at Margarita's Soda several years ago.  The photo of the pizote with the dobbie was female.  She loved dogs.  The male loved people and would climb up on your lap or table to get to food.  The group photo was taken last year in Dominical when the Daytona boys were here.  The big guy is Dana.  At that time he was the Captain of the Daytona Police Dept.  He's the one holding up his arms while the pizotes search him for food.

Everytime I see a pizote it seriously just makes my day.  Having my own here in my own backyard is such an amazing thing.......for which I am truly grateful.

Pura Vida