White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica) Fact Sheet: Population & Conservation Status

Population estimates

• No global population estimates (Cuarón et al. 2015)
• Considered rare to common, depending on location (Gompper 1997; Valenzuela 1998; Valenzuela and Ceballos 2000; Cuarón et al. 2015)
• More common in tropical areas, when resources more abundant
• Rare in the United States (e.g., Kaufmann et al. 1976)
• Populations declining in Mexico and some parts of Central America
• Global population trend
• Decreasing (Cuarón et al. 2015)

Population structure

• Substantial genetic differences among populations (Nigenda-Morales et al. 2019)
• Nigenda-Morales et al. (2019) report a minimum of 5 evolutionarily significant units
• Distinct Panama population
• Isolated earlier than other lineages, about 4 mya ago
• Lowest gene flow in northern and western areas of range (Nigenda-Morales et al. 2019)

IUCN

• Least Concern (2015 assessment) (Cuarón et al. 2016, and as noted)
  • Wide distribution
  • Present in many protected areas across range
  • Locally threatened by habitat loss and hunting (Glatston 1994)
• Previous assessments (Cuarón et al. 2015)
  • 2008: Least Concern
  • 1996: Lower risk/least concern

CITES

• Listed on Appendix III in Honduras (Cuarón et al. 2015; UNEP 2019)
  • No trade protections elsewhere

Government laws and regulations

• Protected in New Mexico, U.S. (Glatston 1994; NMDGF 2019)
  • Hunting permitted in Arizona (Glatston 1994; AGFD 2019)
• Dwarf coati (N. n. nelsoni; Mexican subspecies) listed as Endangered (Kays 2009b)
  • Small population at risk of local extinction
    • Range restricted to Cozumel Island

Habitat loss

• Large-scale habitat loss (Cuarón et al. 2015)
• Loss of forest cover (Urquiza-Haas et al. 2011)

Hunting/poaching

• Coati hunted throughout its range (Glatston 1994)
  • Taken for skin and meat, though other mammals typically preferred (Wright and Duber 2001; Cuarón et al. 2015)
    • Meat of adults considered tough and of “strong flavor” (Leopold 1959)
  • In Mexico, not frequently eaten for food (Avila-Najera et al. 2011)
• In the U.S., killed incidentally (other species targeted) (Leopold 1959; Glatston 1994; Cuarón et al. 2015)
• Taken for pet trade (Leopold 1959)
  • 2016 BBC Earth story and video

Drought

• Dry-season mortality rates higher in years when little rainfall (Valenzuela 1998)
  • Less food and water available

Population fragmentation

• U.S. population becoming isolated from populations farther south (Glatston 1994)
  • May lead to extirpation in the U.S.
• Populations in Mexico small and fragmented (Espinoza-García et al. 2014)

White-nosed coatis are most common in tropical regions, where forest resources are abundant.

Populations have declined in the U.S., Mexico, and some parts of Central America.

Image credit: © Bettina Arrigoni / Flickr. Some rights reserved; CC BY 2.0.