I want to know the name of a small animal I saw in Costa Rica. It had
four legs and looked a bit like a racoon, but taller. It was black or
dark grey with a lighter face I think it was
called a kuwati or coowatti. It was on the shores of Corcovado
National Park in the southern west coast of Costa Rica. Do you know
the name of it?

Thanks,
Dawn

Hi dwhirry!

Well how cool! You saw a Coatimundi! (Coati for short) Aren't they
neat?! They are really common in that area.

Although I immediately thought I knew what you were referring to, I'm
so glad you mentioned what you thought the name might be. It led me
right to it! My favorite description, from the website down below is:

"The Coati is small mammal who gives the appearance of a raccon that
has been stretched like silly putty."

Here are a bunch of pictures - you pick your favorite! :-)
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22COATIMUNDI%22&sa=N&tab=wi

Here is a link to some Coati info -- 
http://www.wildlifeeasyst.com/coatimundi.htm

Thanks for the animal question! They are my specialty, but are few and
far between. This was fun.

-- K~