Press

The October issue of National Geographic Magazine reports a New York State Museum researcher's findings about an unusual rainforest mammal he studied in Panama that lives like a primate, but is actually related to the raccoon and bear families.

The research, by Roland Kays of Albany, the Museum's curator of mammals, reveals new information about the behavior of the kinkajou, a yellowish-brown cat-sized animal sometimes called "honeybear." Kays' findings are published as part of an 11-page full-color photo spread that shows amazing close-ups of the animal as it has never been seen before. Previously, little had been known about the nocturnal animal's behavior because it was hard to find and study in its treetop habitat.

Using ropes, Kays climbed into the rainforest canopy where he set live-traps baited with bananas. The fruit-loving kinkajous became quite fond of these handouts, and Kays was able to capture, mark, and collect blood from 30 animals. Some also received radio-collars, which allowed him to track the animals on subsequent nights and learn more about their nocturnal ways.

"I was amazed at how fast they habituated to me following them at night," said Kays, "I could walk on the ground as they climbed from tree to tree and keep track of where they were going, what they were eating, and who they were interacting with -- they totally ignored me."

Using data from DNA and radio tracking - and by following the "kinks" (Kays' term) with flashlight and binoculars - Kays documented a surprisingly social creature living in family groups, and sleeping the day away in tree holes. These behavioral results appeared in a series of
scientific publications highlighting the evolutionary convergence of these social, fruit-eating,
tree-climbing raccoon relatives with the Primates. The National Geographic article will be the first to illustrate this story with photographs.

With partial funding from National Geographic Society, Kays conducted most of his kinkajou research in the mid 1990s in Soberania National Park near the Panama Canal while he was a graduate student at the University of Tennessee and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. One of his study animals from this work, named Lotus, was still in the same area this past winter when he returned to Panama to help the National Geographic writer, Ithaca-based Holly Menino, and photographer, Sweden-based Mattias Klum, produce the story.

"The pictures are really amazing," said Kays, "the kink immediately accepted the photographer once he climbed the tree, sometimes creeping to within one foot to check him out."

Kays hopes the article will help pique people's interest in mammals, and value the habitats they live in. National Geographic Magazine reaches over six million households in the United States each month. Kays most recently traveled to Panama this past spring and plans to go again in October with the aid of new National Geographic funding he received to research carnivores of New York and Panama.

The State Museum, a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education, was founded on a tradition of scientific inquiry. Started in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.