A 99-year-old Florida woman awoke to a an unexpected visitor Tuesday.
A kinkajou, a nocturnal rainforest animal usually found in Central and South America, was sitting on her chest.
"The lady is sound asleep and she feels something on her chest and she slowly wakes up, and realizes that there's an animal curled up sleeping on her chest," said veterinarian Don Harris. "I don’t know, I guess her first impression was it might be a cat, but when they both got a look at each other, they both freaked out. The lady screamed, (and) the kinkajou went into her attic."
With the help of her daughter, a friend and a YouTube video, the woman was able to lure the raccoon-related animal out of the attic. It was later taken to an animal hospital in South Miami.
"They're not predators. They're very peaceful animals," said Harris. "They're arboreal. They live in the treetops (and) branches. They eat fruit and bugs and things like that. They’'e pretty docile creatures unless cornered, and then their teeth are their defense mechanisms."
But according to Harris, the animal, also known as the honey bear, can be dangerous when startled.
"Someone who was bitten by an animal like this that didn't get proper medical care could lose a limb," he said.
The kinkajou that surprised the woman may have been someone's escaped pet, one Florida news station reported.
"Some people keep them as pets, but I don’t know really how often they make really good pets," said Harris said. "It’s not the kind of animal that you can safely cuddle up with. They're very interesting. They're very rare. Special permits are required to have them, so the question is where did this animal come from?"
KIRO
