White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

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

• See Classification

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)

Occupy a variety of habitat types

• Coatis can adapt to various temperature, altitude, and precipitation conditions (e.g., Risser 1963; Cuarón et al. 2015)
• Primary habitats
  • Tropical woodlands (Cuarón et al. 2015)
  • Open forests (Cuarón et al. 2015)
• Additional habitats
  • Palm stands (Yaap et al. 2015)
  • Temperate woodlands (e.g., oak, pine) and riparian woodlands (U.S., Mexico) (Wallmo and Gallizioli 1954; Glatston 1994; Cuarón et al. 2015)
  • Wetland areas, such as the Pantanal (B. Hirsch, personal communication, 2021)
  • Rare/absent in open grasslands or deserts (Cuarón et al. 2015)

The white-nosed coati is found from Arizona and New Mexico in the United States to northern Peru.

Adapted from www.d-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).