A pair of coatis debuted at Germany’s Tiergarten Delitzsch this week, providing plenty of entertainment for zoo visitors.  After spending the first few months of life secluded in their barn, the baby coatis are just beginning to explore their enclosure.

Zoo keepers have not yet determined the gender of the babies, which are the first to be born at the zoo since the mid-1990s.  This is the first litter for the zoo’s coati pair.

Coatis are native to Central and South America, where they live in a wide range of habitats, from arid grasslands to cold mountainous areas.  Closely related to raccoons, coatis feed on invertebrates, fruit, lizards, and bird eggs.  The long, flexible snout, which can be rotated in any direction, provides impressive sniffing power as coatis forage for food among the leaf litter.

Photo Credits:  Tiergarten Delitzsch