White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica) Fact Sheet: Reproduction & Development

Mating system and courtship

• Mating system may vary depending on distribution and home range size of females (Booth-Binczik et al. 2004a)
• Possibly promiscuous (Gompper et al. 1997)
• Paternity research needed on Nasua narica (but see Hirsch and Maldonado 2011, while noting difference in sex segregation/group structure between white-nosed and ring-tailed coatis)

Copulation

• Occurs in a tree or on the ground (Booth-Binczik et al. 2004a; Kays 2009b)
• Male gives alarm calls (grunts), if approached by other coatis (Hass and Roback 2000)
• Females respond to mounting by standing still, lying down on their sides, or walking/running away (Krinsley 1989)
• Rebuff unwanted male advances (Booth-Binczik et al. 2004a)

General

• Sexual maturity
• Females
• Physically mature at 22 months (Russell 1982)
• Males
• Physically mature at about 34 months old (Kays 2009b)
• May not successfully breed until 3 or 4 years old due to mate competition
• Breed seasonally—only once per year (e.g., Russell 1982; Gompper 1995)
• Strong synchrony in timing of mating and birthing across groups
• If conditions are poor, most females in a population may not breed
• Young born synchronously, with most births occurring within a 2-week period during the wet season (Kaufmann 1962; Russell 1982)
• Coincides with greater food and water availability (Smythe 1970; Russell 1982)
• May reduce predation risk on newborns or juveniles (Hass and Valenzuela 2002)

Timing of breeding

• Mating season
• January to April, depending on location (e.g., Kaufmann 1962; Smythe 1970; Russell 1982; Valenzuela 1998)
• Birthing season
• Arizona: late June (Pratt 1962; Risser 1963; Kaufmann et al. 1976)
• Mexico: June to September (Leopold 1959; Valenzuela 1998)
• Panama, Costa Rica: April to May (Gompper 1995)

Gestation

• Gestation period
• About 70 to 77 days (Risser 1963; Gompper 1997; Hass and Roback 2000)
• A few days before giving birth, females separate from their groups and give birth solitarily in a tree or rocky den (Kaufmann et al. 1976; Ratnayeke et al. 1994; Gompper 1995)
• Females remain away from group for 5 to 6 weeks after giving birth (nesting period), then reform groups (Kaufmann 1962; Russell 1982; Ratnayeke et al. 1994; Hirsch and Gompper 2017)
• Unusual among group-living mammals

Birth

• Litter size
• 1 to 7 young (Kaufmann 1962; Risser 1963; B. Hirsch, personal communication, 2021)
• Some litters taken by predators (Kays 2009b; B. Hirsch, personal communication, 2021)
• Weight at birth
• 80 to 140 g (2.8 to 4.9 oz) (Kaufmann 1962; Valenzuela 1998; Whiteside 2009)
• Up to 180 g (6.3 oz) or more in managed care (Kaufmann 1962)
• Length at birth
• 280 mm (11 in), on average (Mexico) (Valenzuela 1998)

Investment in care

• Parental care provided by females (Booth-Binczik et al. 2004a)

Transport

• Young rarely carried after nesting season (Russell 1982)
• If needed, females carry young in jaws around neck or abdomen (Kaufmann 1962; Newcomer and De Farcy 1985)

Defense

• Females drive males and group members away from nests (Kaufmann 1962; Booth-Binczik et al. 2004a)
• Females leave young in temporary nest while foraging (Russell 1982)

Nourishment of young

• Females nurse young for up to 4 months (Gompper 1995; Kays 2009b)
• Russell (1979) suggest some possible degree of cooperative nursing among female group members, but evidence that this commonly occurs is weak

Newborn

• 1 to 2 weeks old (Kaufmann 1962)
• Eyes and auditory canals open
• Incisor teeth (milk teeth) erupt from gums
• Begin to walk
• Can hold tail vertically
• 4 weeks old (Valenzuela 1998)
• Walk
• Canine teeth (milk teeth) erupt from gums
• End of nesting period (about 4 to 6 weeks old)
• Young climb and walk well (Kaufmann 1962)
• Sometimes lose footing and fall from trees

Juvenile

• About 40 days old
• Mother and young rejoin group (Russell 1982)
• 9 months old
• Adult canines erupt through gums (Risser 1963)
• About 2 to 2.5 years old
• Males become solitary (Gompper 1995)

Wild populations

• Not reported

Managed care

• Median life expectancy
  • 13.5 years (AZA 2023)

Survival rates

• High levels of mortality in some populations (Hirsch and Gompper 2017)
• Groups commonly die out or disband, especially during food shortages (Gompper et al. 1997; Hirsch and Gompper 2017)
  • Sometimes caused by high mortality among juveniles
• Groups at highest predation risk:
  • Juveniles (Russell 1979; Russell 1982)
  • Solitary individuals (Hass and Valenzuela 2002)
  • Females during nesting (Hass and Valenzuela 2002)

Predators

• Large cats
  • Jaguar (Panthera onca) (Valenzuela 1998; Hass and Valenzuela 2002; Avila-Najera et al. 2011)
  • Puma (Puma concolor) (Hass and Valenzuela 2002; Monroy-Vilchis et al. 2009; Gómez-Ortiz and Monroy-Vilchis 2013)
  • Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) (Hass and Valenzuela 2002)
• Raptors (Risser 1963; Kaufmann et al. 1976)
• Snakes (Boa constrictor, Costa Rica) (Sanderson 1941; Janzen 1970)
• Black bear (Ursus americanus) (Arizona) (Hass and Valenzuela 2002)
• Primates
  • Capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) prey on coati pups/nestlings (Costa Rica) (Newcomer and De Farcy 1985; Perry and Rose 1994)
  • Humans (e.g., Kaufmann et al. 1976)
• Domestic dogs (Hass and Valenzuela 2002; B. Hirsch, personal communication, 2021)
• Bobcats and coyotes suspected to prey on juveniles (Peter Waser, personal communication, 2019)

Accidental death

• Coatis killed on roadways by motor vehicles (Kaufmann et al. 1976; Valenzuela 1998)
• Some killed in traps set for other animals (Kaufmann et al. 1976)

Diseases (non-comprehensive list)

• Rabies (Kaufmann et al. 1976; Aréchiga-Ceballos et al. 2010)
• Canine distemper (Risser 1963; Kaufmann et al. 1976)
• Tuberculosis (Nóbrega and Reis 1941, as cited by Gompper 1995)
• Certain pox viruses (Gallardo-Romero et al. 2016)

Parasites (non-comprehensive list)

• Ticks and fleas (Bermúdez C. et al. 2015)
• Mites
  • Cause mange (Valenzuela et al. 2000), including severe scabies infections (Valenzuela 1998)
• Various worms (e.g., Neal 1960; Kaufmann 1962; Van Alstine et al. 1974; Santoro et al. 2016)
• Protozoans (Lainson 1965; Mehrkens et al. 2013; Martínez-Hernández et al. 2014; Dubey et al. 2017)
• Bacterial infections
  • E. coli (Valenzuela 1998; Valenzuela et al. 2000)
  • Salmonellosis (Pratt 1962, as cited by Gompper 1995; Risser 1963)
• Also see Gompper (1995), and Hirsch and Gompper (2017)

At about 5 to 6 weeks old, juvenile and mother coatis return to living in their larger matrilineal groups.

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