The prize fighter of the Central American jungle is the coati(pronounced ko AHte). The male coati will gladly battle with almost any animal. including his own father and brothers. Such family battles often last until one or the other coati is dead or at least severely wounded. Coatis are distantly related to raccoons. They weigh some fifteen to twenty pounds and measure four feet from the nose to the top of the tail. Nearly half of their total length consists of tail. It is a remarkable sight to see a coati walking along a jungle trail with this long tail sticking straight up in the air older male coatis prefer to keep to themselves. But the females and young travel in bands that may number thirty or forty. If attacked by human beings or some other creature. the elderly females will defend their youngsters savagely Possessed of exceptional eyesight. strong jaws. and vicious-looking claws, coats are well equipped to capture many kinds of small animals, as well as young birds. reptiles. and spiders. As they grunt and root around for banan nuts, and berries which they also eat--they may be heard for quite some distance Coats are as much at home in trees as on the ground, and they frequently climb to the topmost branches. If these bend under their weight, they don't care a bit. Sometimes the fruit they are after is out of reach. In this case, they bend the branch it is on until they can obtain the tasty food