Awww. Zoo Boise welcomes 6 baby coatis, part of the raccoon family

Six newborn white-nosed coati kits are getting used to their surroundings at Zoo Boise and periodically coming outside their den where they can be viewed by visitors.

The six were born to the zoo’s two adult female coatis, Bella and Rose. Rose’s litter was born on May 4 and Bella’s nine days later.

The kits will remain at Zoo Boise for a couple of months and then taken to other facilities around the country that take part in a breeding program.

“They’re a lot of fun,” assistant zoo Director Liz Littman said. “Like raccoons, they’re great climbers.”

Coatis are natives of Central and South America, Littman said. They’re typically found in a wide range of habitats, from dry, open forests to tropical woodlands, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

They eat fruit, invertebrates, small rodents and lizards. They mostly find food on the ground but will sometimes go into trees for it.

They possess strong claws for digging and their long snouts are handy for pulling things out of cracks and crevices.

This marks the second year in a row that Bella and Rose have delivered a total of six coati kits, Littman said.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Awww. Zoo Boise welcomes 6 baby coatis, part of the raccoon family."