Meet the Kinkajou, the Tree-Loving Mammal With an Identity Problem

(cheerful music)

[Narrator] Aw, c'mon man,

this is just manners 101.

Chew with your mouth closed!

This little etiquette school dropout

is the kinkajou.

When it's not hanging out in photo studios,

it's hanging upside down

in the rainforest of Central and South America.

Using it's prehensile tail

to get a grip on branches,

which is weird because

the kinkajou is no primate.

It actually belongs to the

same family as the raccoon.

Indeed, it's one of only

two animals in the Order Carnivora,

with a prehensile tail.

The other one,

that would be the binturong,

which smells like popcorn, as it happens.

No joke there,

just a thing.

And, like the binturong,

the kinkajou's also got some weird joints.

It can spin it's feet backwards,

to better negotiate trees.

While the kinkajou may be

classified as a carnivore,

it's actually more into fruit and nectar,

which makes it a pivotal part

of the rainforest ecosystem.

When it crams it's head

into flower after flower,

it helps pollinate them.

And when it eats fruits,

it ends up spreading the seeds around the forest.

So, alright fine.

Go ahead and chew however you'd like.

You've earned it little fella.