雅虎香港電視

Biologist Natalia Cara was interning at a wildlife institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in January of 2017 when she learned that keeping coatis as pets is not a good idea.

Coatis are mostly omnivorous mammals found in Latin America. In general, they weigh about 10 pounds and usually live to be 7 or 8 years old.

The coatis featured in the video had been kept as pets since they were very young but eventually their owner decided he no longer wanted them. Since they were unequipped for life in the wild, they were brought to the biology institute to be cared for.

Cara told Storyful, “Since there is no alternative but to keep them in captivity, the idea was to use them for educational purposes, to help in teaching students how to handle them properly. But that meant that their caretaker had to sit with them for long periods of time, so that they’ll get accustomed to interacting with people.”

The coatis featured in the video are shown using Cara as a ladder and vigorously sniffing her clothing and appendages at length.

Cara wrote in the text accompanying the video on YouTube, “Coatis look extremely adorable, and they are, as long as you do (and let them do) whatever they want! Otherwise, they can be vicious! Caring for these mischief-makers is not the easiest job in the world, as they will explore and climb, and basically treat you like an object!” Credit: Natalia Cara via Storyful