Pittsboro, N.C. – Carolina Tiger Rescue is excited to announce the arrival of their latest rescue, Daisy Coatimundi. Daisy arrived on May 18, and is already adjusting to her new life at the GFAS-accredited sanctuary. She will spend approximately four weeks in quarantine to receive necessary vaccinations, allow keepers to observe behavior and personality traits, and ensure she’s heathy enough to be moved into her enclosure.
One-year-old Daisy was relinquished to Carolina Tiger Rescue by a private owner who never intended to keep her as a pet. After being contacted by the owner, the sanctuary agreed to give Daisy the forever home she deserves.
Keepers are working with her daily to help her feel comfortable in her new surroundings. She loves receiving enrichment, which includes hunting bugs, fruit, vegetables, and meat hidden in boxes to encourage foraging-like behavior. This mimics what coatimundis would do in the wild to search for food.
“We are happy to welcome Daisy to the sanctuary,” said Kathryn Bertok, Assistant Director at Carolina Tiger Rescue. “She is a special coatimundi who deserves to live in an environment where she can be happy, healthy, and wild.”
Coatimundis are small, diurnal (active during the day) mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico and the southwestern United States. They belong to the same family as racoons and kinkajous, and have ringed tails that they use to keep troops of coatis together in tall vegetation. They are happy both in the trees and on the forest floor and play a significant role in their native ecosystems as both predator and prey to many different species.
Given their small size, many people think coatimundis would make interesting or exotic pets. Unfortunately, coatimundis are wild animals, no matter their surroundings. Lengthy claws and sharp teeth make it possible for them to inflict serious injury if provoked, and adequate captive environments are difficult for the average person to maintain. For these reasons, Carolina Tiger Rescue believes that wild animals like Daisy should never be kept as pets.
For more information about Daisy, please contact Louise Orr at (919) 219-2301 or louiseorr@carolinatigerrescue.org.
About: Carolina Tiger Rescue is a 501(c)3 GFAS-accredited nonprofit wildlife sanctuary dedicated to saving and protecting wild cats in captivity and in the wild. We work toward a day when wild cats are living in their native habitats and not exploited by humans.
