If you like pets, you would find a tamed kinkajou (also called honey bear) a playful one, but in the wild it is tough and fierce. This six-to seven-pound member of the raccoon family lives in the forests of southern Mexico, Central America and parts of South America. When fully grown, it is two feet long, or slightly smaller, plus a slender tail of the same length. It is sometimes mistaken for a monkey or a ferret, but it is not closely related to either one.
Like some monkeys, kinkajous use their tails to grasp onto branches as they travel through the trees. Sometimes they hang head-downward with their tails grasping a branch. This tail also helps in keeping their balance when jumping from one branch to another.
They have yellow-brown dense fur with some faint darker colors and a white stomach. Heads are round with pointed noses, cup-shaped ears and large, innocent-looking eyes adding to their beauty. The Creator has also provided them with sharp claws on their front feet to help in climbing. They also will hold a piece of fruit or other food in one hand while breaking off pieces with the other for eating, just like we do.
Being nocturnal, during the day they hide in tree holes or nap in crotches of trees with their tails wrapped snugly around them. They become lively at night and feed mostly on fruit and insects. Long tongues are a help in probing crevices for insects. At times they will use their long tails to reach into insect nests, then pull them out and lick off any insects stuck to them.
Usually just one baby is born to the parents each year. It looks like a cute little kitten with its soft tan fur and tightly shut eyes, which will open in about four weeks. Even before its eyes open, its tail can get a tight grip on things it encounters. When only three months old, it might be found playfully hanging head-downward with its tail securely wrapped about a small limb. In a year’s time it is fully grown. Many have long lives for so little an animal—some in captivity living nearly 20 years.
These cuddly animals are examples of the Creator’s care for all living things, even in the wild, tropical forests. But His thoughts toward every boy and girl are far better, for He invites you to live with Him in heaven when your life on earth is over. In great love, the Lord Jesus made this possible by bearing on Calvary’s cross the sins of all who admit they are sinners and believe that He died for them. Will you be among the happy ones in heaven who will be with Him for all eternity?
ML-11/06/2016