Lily Coatimundi

How Lily Came to the Sanctuary

Lily came to Carolina Tiger Rescue with her enclosure mate Macano and 14 other animals from a facility out in west.  This facility was closed down due when the owner fell ill.  Carolina Tiger Rescue worked with several other sanctuaries from around the country to find homes for over 100 animals. 

Though they have not been with us long, Lily and her enclosure mate, Macano, are making themselves right at home at Carolina Tiger Rescue.  Lily seems to be a bit shyer than Macano but she enjoys coming up to see what the keepers have brought her for food each day.  She loves red meat and prefers to eat her meat before her fruit!  Lily displays a bit of OCD behavior by walking up and down the corner of her enclosure over and over.  We are hoping that with a new environment, once she settles in that we will see a decrease in this behavior.

Lily is the smaller of the two coatimundis.  She weighs around 10 pounds.

Currently Lily and Macano are located in the enclosure across from Oliver Ocelot.

Coatimundis like Lily are popular in the pet trade.  These animals generally very laid back and docile which leads people to believe they are good pets.  Coatimundis however are wild animals that should be and deserve to be in the wild.  Lily and Macano are both declawed which a popular practice with wild animals in the pet trade, to make an animals "safer".  Coatimundis often suffer in homes and can often develop OCD behaviors.  These animals are very intelligent and very active.  They spend the majority of their day foraging for food which keeps their minds and bodies in shape, and they are often not given this opportunity when they are kept as pets.  Carolina Tiger Rescue is a firm believer that no wild animal should be a pet.