One way or other, the South American Coati (Nasua nasua), a member of the raccoon family, has arrived in Mallorca, and not everyone is pleased about it. In fact, the Govern de les Illes Balears and in particular, it’s Conselleria de Medi Ambient are now out in hot pursuit of the little creature. Apparently, the coati is about to endanger our native Mallorcan fauna. Perhaps some South American visitor has inadvertently or even mischievously imported one or more of the species, or else the beast might have come to our shores as a stowaway. Whichever way, Mallorca now has a problem.

When we went for a walk from Orient to the Puig d’Alaró yesterday we hoped we might spot one of the crafty little members of this breed, but no. It was not all that unlikely since they are diurnal animals, i. e. active during the day. If you should detect a coati please take note of one of the telephone numbers in the photo (below) and make yourself a guardian of the Mallorcan environment. You would even be allowed to capture or, indeed, shoot one of the little fellows. Apparently, the animal is not of an endangered species.

The photo (top) was taken from the Internet. I acknowledge Webshots.com and the photographer, premiere2000. Thank you very much.

The photo (bottom) was taken near Orient, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: February 17th, 2010. The time was 15:08:12.