Meet the Zoo: Herminone the Kinkajou

The name “honey bear” might be reminiscent of an animal with short ears, short furry coat, and a voracious appetite for sweets.  Visitors to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo can see a truly unique animal that fits the description – Hermione the kinkajou.

A kinkajou is a small mammal – not more than 2 feet long – with soft golden brown fur, short round ears, short legs with five toes, and sharp claws on each foot.  Hermoine, like all kinkajous, has large eyes, but her most amazing characteristic is her tongue – all five inches of it. 

As a frugivore (that’s an omnivore that prefers fruit), kinkajous need that long tongue to scoop out soft sweet fruit pulp or lick nectar from flowers. The tongue is extrudable, meaning they can extend it all the way out. 

Keepers at the zoo have devised a new form of enrichment for Hermione that gives her some entertainment and allows visitors an opportunity to see that tongue in action.  Long plastic tubes are fastened together and honey is dribbled inside or a piece of sweet mango dropped into the tube. They are then tied to a tree so Hermione has to figure out how to maneuver to grab the tubes for her sweet reward.  The tubes are clear so you can see her super long tongue which she also uses to fish out pieces of fruit. 

Another interesting characteristic is her prehensile tail which she can manipulate almost like a fifth hand when climbing – similar to her fellow Central American forest dwellers, the spider monkeys.  Hermione uses her tail to steal treats from her downstairs neighbors, the bettongs.  These tiny kangaroo-like animals spend their days on the ground below Hermione, often gathering straw and building nests.  When they are away from their food bowl, she will scramble down close, wrap her tail around a vine and hang down to snap up a piece of banana or some other snack. 

When people come to visit everyone is encouraged to spend a little extra time in the nocturnal area to watch as Hermonie works to get some honey – her treat is a treat for everyone.