It is a mammal. It has off-white rings around its long tail. It is reddish brown with a white muzzle and a raccoonish face. It's also about the size of a raccoon, but with a pointier snout. I have a picture of it, so I can cross reference your answers with pictures on the internet. I saw them at Cypress Gardens.
2006-10-14 09:45:38 · 24 answers · asked by kioberry 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
It is definitely NOT a lemur, a chinchilla, or a raccoon.
2006-10-14 09:58:19 · update #1
It is also not an opossum, which is obvious from my description. It does not has as pointed a snout as a bandicoot and I believe it is bigger than a bandicoot as well.
2006-10-14 10:03:26 · update #2
If you are talking Cypress Gardens in Naples Florida - I do believe they have a web site. I remember seeing a animal that meets that description whenwe went - but alas the name is not to be had.....
2006-10-14 09:48:43 · answer #1 · answered by akelaamy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like it might be a Florida specific raccoon. Try looking up the picture in an Audubon Wildlife book. Since they are regional books, start with one that covers Florida. I don't know why the name Lemur just popped into my mind since they are primates and tend to sit more like a monkey. Good searching.
2006-10-14 16:49:55 · answer #2 · answered by St N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you're describing a coati. They are often incorrectly called coatimundi but this refers to a lone male. You may have seen a white-nosed coati, which has a range from southwestern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and the Big Bend to Brownsville areas of Texas. The scientific name is Nasua narica and they are relatives to racoons. There is also a brown-nosed coati that occurs in South America. Here is a photo of the white-nosed coati for you: http://www.desertusa.com/may97/du_coati2.html
Hope it helps.
2006-10-15 01:19:38 · answer #3 · answered by ChrisLM 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Im going with White-Nosed Coati too.
It always helps when you describe an animal to say where you saw it. Fist, it helps to know whether it is wild or in a captivity (ie in a zoo).
If you see something in the wild, it often narrows down the option, i.e. we might consider first just native US species. However, saying that, there are many species of creatures living wild in the US, anything is possible, just these might be much less commony seen.
2006-10-15 01:44:15 · answer #4 · answered by nnjamerson 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ringtailed Coati
http://wildadventures.net/animals.asp?load=87
or maybe a Red Panda?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/6.shtml
2006-10-14 17:10:48 · answer #5 · answered by belmyst 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that sounds like a ring tailed lemur.
2006-10-14 16:48:12 · answer #6 · answered by DigsRetro 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be a coatamundi. Try and found out what part of the world it comes from. The coatamundi fits your discription, and it is the state mammal of Arizona.
2006-10-15 16:28:15 · answer #7 · answered by cougarbrooke08 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you may be describing a red panda (not at all related to pandas), they are also called lesser panda. They are in the raccoon family.
2006-10-15 14:11:45 · answer #8 · answered by sarah w 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Opossum?
2006-10-14 16:47:49 · answer #9 · answered by Pseudo Obscure 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a ring tailed lemur.
2006-10-14 16:53:04 · answer #10 · answered by rltouhe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋