Kinkajou (Potos flavus) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology

Nocturnal (Julien-Laferriere 1993; Kays and Gittleman 2001; Zeveloff 2002)

• Sleep in daylight
• Sleep in hollow trees, niches formed by branches and vines, or in the fronds of palm trees (Figueroa and Arita 2013; Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Several individuals may share the same den site (Kays and Gittleman 2001)

Daily activity patterns (from Julien-Laferriere 1993 unless otherwise noted)

• Onset of activity
• Begin activity shortly after sunset
• Travel and forage c. 8-11 hours per night
• Move about much of the time
• Interrupt travel to feed
• Brief periods of rest (the animal is neither feeding or moving) tend to occur in the middle of the night (23:00-02:00), though a more evenly distributed pattern may also occur
• Seek out sleeping spots (dens) prior to dawn
• Most commonly sleep in tree holes or large palm trees (R Kays personal communication)
• Sleep with legs tucked and tail curled around the body, over the head (Poglayen-Neuwall 1962)
• In warm weather, lie on the back or side; limbs and tail extended (Poglayen-Neuwall 1962)

Range Features

• Ranges often overlap  (Kays and Gittleman 1995; Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Portions of a female's range are often shared with one or more males

• Home range size (from Kays and Gittleman 2001 unless otherwise noted)
• c. 0.05-0.53 km² (0.02-0.20 mi²) (Julien-Laferriere 1993; Kays and Gittleman 1995; Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Similar between sexes and age classes
• Juvenile ranges typically center within their mother’s home range

Solitary, most often (from Kays and Gittleman 2001)

• Exhibit a degree of social, group life
• Regularly interact with conspecifics (other kinkajous)
• Consolidate at daytime dens and large fruiting trees
• Share overlapping home ranges
• Avoid ranges used by other groups
• Members within associations are often consistent
• Associations typically while feeding or denning
• Rarely travel together
• Group composition
• 1 female, 2 males, and 1-2 juveniles or sub-adults; typical makeup

Territorial boundaries strictly observed (from Kays 2009; Kays and Gittleman 1995)

• Neighboring groups remain within separate home ranges

Inter-group interactions (from Kays 2009; Kays and Gittleman 1995)

• Aggressive interactions rare
• Neighboring females chase one another
• Tree-top pursuits often end with the subordinate animal jumping to the ground to flee

Aggression (from Kays and Gittleman 2001 unless otherwise noted)

• Forms of aggression
  
• Scream, chase, and hit one another
• Threat behavior
• Forcefully shake branches to threaten another

Affiliative behaviors (from Kays and Gittleman 2001 unless otherwise noted)

• Allo-grooming (one individual grooms another)
• Bidirectional grooming is most common, though unidirectional grooming occurs
• Partners will exchange grooming or simultaneously groom one another
• Nature of grooming
• Individuals lick and bite to comb their partner’s fur (Poglayen-Neuwall 1962)
• One animal lies on the back of the other to clean its partner’s ears, head, and back of the neck (Kays and Gittleman 1995; Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Participants
• Most frequently observed between members of the same social group
• Both sexes take part (Kays and Gittleman 1995; Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Location of events
• Large, fruiting trees often serve as a site for grooming
• Also near smaller fruiting trees and den sites
• Duration
• Typically for c. 6-7 minutes
• Longest bout lasting 28 minutes, one study

Play (from Kays and Gittleman 2001 unless otherwise noted)

• Participants
• Juveniles and sub-adults; adult males may join
• Forms of play
• Chase one another through the forest canopy
• Play-boxing
• Hang (upside-down) by the tails and strike out with the hands (Kays 2009)

Vocalization (from Poglayen-Neuwall 1962 unless otherwise noted)

• Produce brief but regular calls (Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Wide call repertoire
• Snort-weedle (or “puff and bark”) (Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Two-part call; one quick snort sound followed by a variable number of weedle vocalizations (Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Long-range call (Kays 2009)
• Produced by adult and sub-adult males and females (Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Meaning unclear; possibly having multiple meanings (Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• May be repeated for long periods; maximum of 15 minutes in one study (Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Twitter
• Infantile sound; possibly indicating pleasure or begging
• Shrill and ending in a high intensity whistle
• Bark
• Short, hoarse sound
• Contact call
• Chirp
• Soothing sound emitted by mothers
• Spit
• Given in warning or during fights
• Hiss
• Emitted when startled or alarmed
• Scream (Ford and Hoffmann 1988; Poglayen-Neuwall 1962)
• Given when under threat
• Often heard immediately prior to a biting attack

Olfaction/Scent Marking (from Kays and Gittleman 2001 unless otherwise noted)

• Scent glands
• Found on the chest and belly region; lack anal glands (Zeveloff 2002)
• Smell described as pleasant, sweet, and musky (de la Rosa and Nocke 2000)
• Marking by both males and females  (Kays and Gittleman 1995; Kays and Gittleman 2001)
• Rub the jaw-line, throat, or abdomen on branches
• Tail often wraps around a branch for support
• At times, roll the back onto the branch
• Possibly to add further scent or to anoint the animal’s back with the deposited scent
• Extended marking common; may last for 15 minutes (Kays and Gittleman 1995)

Within the forest canopy (from McClearn 1992 unless otherwise noted)

• Jump
• Spring from one limb or tree to another (Figueroa and Arita 2013)
• Backbone capable of rotating 180o from the hip to the neck (Figueroa and Arita 2013; McClearn 1992)
• Climb
• Adept, yet deliberate
• Descend headfirst (Ford and Hoffmann 1988)
• Travel along horizontal branches by walking on the top surface or hanging suspended below
• May twist the body around the branch
• Prehensile tail helps to secure and balance the body when crossing gaps between supports
• Hindfeet and tail hold the old support as the forefeet secure a grip on the new support

Along the ground (from McClearn 1992)

• Walk
• Quadrupedally with a crouched body posture
• Tail held off the ground in a loose curl
• Described by one author as graceful and “feline”

Predators

• Mammalian predators
• Felines (cats)
• Jaguar (Panthera onca), puma (Puma concolor), and ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) (Figueroa and Arita 2013; Kays 2009)
• Humans
• Hunt kinkajou for food; by some in Surinam and by the Lacandons in Chiapas, Mexico (March 1987; Robinson and Redford 1991)
• Traffick furs (pelts); especially in South America (Figueroa and Arita 2013)
• Capture for the pet trade (Ford and Hoffmann 1988)
• Avian predators
• Harpy (Harpia harpyja) and Isidor’s Eagles (Oroaetus isidora) (Ford and Hoffmann 1988)
• Diurnal hunters likely capture sleeping kinkajous (Ford and Hoffmann 1988)

Symbiotic relationships

• Seed dispersal (from Figueroa and Arita 2013; Kays 1999)
• Kinkajous consume seeds of fruiting trees and deposit them in droppings around the forest
• Digestive tract does not damage seeds
• Ficus (figs), Virola, and Luga fruit often consumed and their seeds found in droppings
• Pollinations (from Kays 1999 unless otherwise noted)
• Pollen from flowers (e.g. Ochroma pyramidale, Pseudobombax septenatum, and Tetrathylacium johnansenii) collects on the kinkajous’ nose when it takes nectar (Kays 1999; Kays et al. 2012)
• Balsa trees (O. pyramidale) rely on kinkajous for short distance dispersal of pollen (Kays et al. 2012)
• Kinkajou spend more time feeding from balsa tree flowers than any other pollinator (Kays et al. 2012)
• One preliminary study suggests that kinkajou are better pollinators of balsa trees than bats (Kays et al. 2012)
• Cross-pollination occurs as the kinkajou moves to take nectar from other flowers
• Parasitic interactions
• Ectoparasites
• Lice and ticks (Figueroa and Arita 2013)
• Trichodectes potus, a louse (Ford and Hoffmann 1988)
• Amblyomma sp, a tick (Ford and Hoffmann 1988)
• Protozoans
• Leishmania brasiliensis occasionally results in skin infections (Figueroa and Arita 2013)

The nocturnal kinkajou spends most of the night alone, traveling and eating. A female may share portions of her territory with one or more males. Individuals may congregate near denning sites and have been known to engage in mutual, social grooming.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

de la Rosa and Nocke (2000)
Figuerosa et al. (2013)
Ford and Hoffman (1988)
Julien-Laferrier (1993)
Kays (1999)
Kays (2009)
Kays and Gittleman (1995)
Kays and Gittleman (2001)
Kays et al. (2012)
March (1987)
McClearn (1992)
Poglayen-Neuwall (1962)
Robinson and Redford (1991)
Zeveloff (2002)