Coatis are highly social, intelligent procyonids whose welfare in captivity requires appropriate social groupings, foraging opportunities, and complex environmental enrichment.
Coati welfare in zoos requires social housing with appropriate female group compositions and exceptional foraging enrichment to engage their powerful rooting motivation. Solitary housing is deeply welfare-compromising for social female coatis. Their foraging drive — rooting with a specialized nose through diverse substrates — is a core behavioral need that cannot be satisfied with standard food dishes. Best-practice exhibits provide deep leaf litter or soil substrates for active rooting, climbing structures, and hiding opportunities throughout a varied, complex environment. Zoos that house coatis as novelty exhibits without meeting these needs produce chronically stressed, behaviorally deprived animals.