tropical forests, including lowland rainforest, montane forest, dry forest, gallery forest, and secondary forest. Deforestation is thus a potential threat to the species. Diet Although the kinkajou is classified in the order Carnivora and has sharp teeth, its omnivorous diet consists mainly of fruit, particularly figs. Some 90% of their diet consists of (primarily ripe) fruit. To eat softer fruits, they hold it with their forepaws, then scoop out the succulent pulp with their tongue. They may play an important role in seed dispersal. Leaves, flowers, and various herbs make up much of the other 10% of their diet. They sometimes eat insects, particularly ants. They may occasionally eat bird eggs and small vertebrates. Their frugivorous habits are actually convergent with those of (diurnal) spider monkeys. The kinkajou's slender 5-inch extrudable tongue helps the animal to obtain fruit and to lick nectar from flowers, so it sometimes acts as a pollinator. (Nectar is also sometimes obtained by eating entire flowers.) Although captive specimens avidly eat honey (hence the name "honey bear"), honey in the diet of wild kinkajous is not well reported. Behavior Kinkajou spend most of their lives in trees, to which they are particularly well adapted. Like raccoons, kinkajous' remarkable manipulatory abilities rival those of primates. The kinkajou has a short-haired, fully prehensile tail (like some New World monkeys), which it uses as a "fifth hand" in climbing. It does not use its tail for grasping food. It can rotate its ankles and feet 180°, making it easy for the animal to run backward over tree limbs and climb down trees headfirst. Scent glands near the mouth, on the throat, and on the belly allow kinkajous to mark their territory and their travel routes. Kinkajous sleep in family units and groom one another. While they are usually solitary when foraging, they occasionally forage in large groups, and sometimes associate with olingos (which are also nocturnal arboreal frugivores). The larger kinkajous are dominant and will drive olingos away when food is scarce. Kinkajous have a much more extensive range than olingos and tend to be more common. However, olingos may have greater agility, perhaps facilitating their sympatry with kinkajous. As a nocturnal animal, the kinkajou's peak activity is usually between about 7:00 pm and midnight, and again an hour before dawn. During daylight hours, kinkajous sleep in tree hollows or in shaded tangles of leaves, avoiding direct sunlight. Kinkajous