The kinkajou is a small animal with short, soft honey gold or brown fur. It has a round head with small round ears, a cat like face and very prominent eyes. It's long stretchable tongue is used for getting nectar. The kinkajou has a fully prehensile tail that is used as support when climbing or resting. To aid in climbing, they can rotate their feet backwards so that they can hang from tree branches. The toes are joined by a membrane that extends a third of the way down each toe. It has scent glands on the face, throat and belly. The length of the head and body is 16-22 inches. The tail is the same length. They can weigh up to 4-10 pounds. The Kinkajou uses a small peep for close communication and a shrill scream for far away communication. Kinkajous are native to the lowland rain forests of Southern Mexico, Central America and parts of South America. They are nocturnal. During the day and they sleep in tree hollows, or leaves and trees to avoid all contact with sunlight. They are also arboreal and stay in the forest canopy and very seldom come down. The diet mainly consists of fruit and nectar. It turns upside down, on its side or on its back so it will not lose any of the fruit juice. Although they do eat bees, honey, blossoms and other small insects they have also have been known to eat small animals such as tree-living frogs, nesting birds and their eggs. One important role they play in the rain forests is that they are a pollinator. When the Kinkajou reaches for nectar with its tongue, which can extend up to 5 inches long, its face gets covered with pollen which is then spread to other plants.