the nose-bears then is properly primitively appearing small-bears, who remind of gigantic shrews sooner, at bears. Marking is it unduly into the length of moved muzzle-part, that is towered above by one long, extremely movable nose. The short neck and the small ears, that stand on top of everything hidden in the fur, still round off the outer impression. The body of the animals is slim and high-legged and finishes into a überkörperlangen tail with dark ringlet-drawing at the rear end. The fur-coloring is so variable that even a singles-individual can look differently like the fur-change as previously. Broadly, a reddish one predominates until gray-sallow-brown coloring.
The five toes of the paws are with sharp, reaches, at the hand somewhat shorter claws fortifies. they healed together up to the last limb.
We distinguish 4 types: 1. White-trunk-bear (Nasua narica) from the southwestern USA and Panama; 2. Nelson-nose-bear (Nasua nelsoni) of the island Cozumil; 3. South American nose-bear (Nasua nasua) and 4. Little one or mountain-nose-bear (Nasuella olivacea).
Habitat On its habitat, the nose-bear doesn't make any particular demands, and so it occurs also in almost all biotopes, from tropical valleys over meager high-forests as far as to the edge of deserts.
Nutrition As pure Tagtier, it lives sociably in large female-associations, that one single male to it-joins at the reproductive-time. it lives in the most important thing of various invertebrate, that walgt it, like the raccoon, with the front-paws on the ground, before it consumes it. Through it off it possible thorns, inedible body-appendixes and exoskeletons. However, it doesn't spurn also smaller vertebrates, whom it kills with one head-bite, and takes very gladly fleshy and sweet fruits, whose pulp it procures for himself with help of its sharp claws.
Reproduction The already mentioned female-troops stop together up to 25 often together used female animals and their boy. During the combination-time, that goes down in the months January until March, the males individually living during the year visit the female-groups and rival for the takeover of the respective groups. Always only a male keeps the upper hand here and defends the "group-property" vigorously against each rival. Often, the quite aggressive male-fights with considerable injuries for one or both adversaries finish.
At these confrontations, the animals bend its noses in characteristic manner upward in order to show the opponent the remarkable teeth. Frequent marking of prominent points of the residential-area with urine is in this time one much practiced shop of the males.
After a Tragzeit of 71-74 days but itself the females of the group from and tosses in a simple tree-nest 2-7 young, that they suckle 24-26 weeks. Until the age of five weeks, the mother keeps an eye peinlichst on the boys and immediately tows it into the nest back, if they disappear of those on its first expeditions. After five weeks, the family joins the group again, the members hold however still close vocal contact among each other. Only with the next birth, the mother's welfare-instinct goes out for the last year's boys, and the young males now leave the group. However, the sexually mature happens first one year later with the third year of life.
Continuance While the white-trunk-bear and the South American nose-bear still are frequent in its spread-area, the little one nose-bear is very rare. In Colombia, it stands under protection.
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