Wide distribution
(Taber 1940; Kaufmann et al. 1976; Gompper 1995; González-Maya and Rodrígues-Bolaños 2011; Cuarón et al. 2015)
- Regions
- Southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico)
- Mexico (except Baja California and central highlands)
- Central America
- Northwestern South America
- West of Andes Mountains, from Columbia to northern Peru
- Hirsch and Gompper (2017): “The southern geographic range limits of the white-nosed coati are unclear; the species occurs throughout Panama and may also occur in parts of Colombia and Ecuador.”
- Higher population densities in the tropics than southwestern United States (Lanning 1976; Gompper 1995; MacDonald et al. 2017)
- Numbers in U.S. limited due to aridity, cold temperatures, disease, unsuitable plant cover, and less abundant food (Kaufmann et al. 1976)
Distribution of subspecies
Elevation range
- Arizona and New Mexico
- Most common at 1,400 to 2,000 m (4,600 to 7,000 ft) (Kaufmann et al. 1976)
- Up to 2,900 m (9,500 ft) (Leopold 1959; Risser 1963)
- Occur in small isolated mountain ranges in Mexico and the southwestern U.S. (Cuarón et al. 2015)