OlinguitoThe olinguito is a part of the raccoon family and was discovered in 2013 by the Smithsonian

Olinguito

The olinguito is a part of the raccoon family and was discovered in 2013 by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. This interesting creature inhabits parts of South Africa within the Andes Mountains. 

The olinguito eats mostly fruits making it omnivorous. However, they sometimes feed on insects and nectar.

These furry little guys share it’s genus with five other species called  Bassaricyon. All of the species within this genus live in the Andes however, the olinguito lives the highest in elevation. Being 5,000 to 9,000 ft.

Currently, the olinguito in not threatened. However due to deforestation and urbanization, these creatures are near threatened. No efforts that are known of are being put into reducing habitat destruction.

 Photo by:  rarecollection.ch via Flickr