How’s that for a confusing headline? Trust us, the real story doesn’t make much sense either. Early Tuesday morning (about 2 a.m., to be more precise), a 99-year-old Florida woman woke up to find a 5-year-old kinkajou touching her face while curled up on her chest. The whole thing wouldn’t have been such a big deal, however, if she were the owner of the exotic animal native only to Central and South America. Alas, she had never seen the furry creature in her life.
Distraught, the elderly woman (who asked not to be named) called upon the aid of her son-in-law Carlos Aguaras and friend Cathy Moghari after the encounter spooked the creature into fleeing to the attic. As luck would have it, Moghari had experience with exotic animals and recognized the fuzzy 2-foot-long intruder as a kinkajou, which looks a lot like a monkey but is actually a member of the raccoon family. “I start thinking, ‘How are we going to get this animal out?’ So I googled kinkajou sounds and found a video,” she told WPLG-TV.
Sure enough, the sounds were enough to coax the creature from hiding, and it was taken to South Dade Avian and Exotic Animal Medical Center for examination. According to veterinarian Don Harris, “no undomesticated wild animal like this would curl up on a woman’s chest to go to sleep.” This fact was especially fortunate for the old woman, as apparently kinkajous are known for their sharp teeth, which could lead to a rather gnarly bite if provoked.
