Raleigh Police Find Exotic Animal Roaming The City

Missing cats, lost dogs, stolen rabbits. The animals typically seen wandering around Raleigh are more common, but occasionally an unusual creature may be found. Last year, a venomous cobra petrified a community after escaping from its enclosure. Now, a new exotic animal was seen in Raleigh but it fortunately has a less lethal bite.

On Tuesday (February 15), animal control officers with the Raleigh Police Department caught a white-nosed coati in southeast Raleigh. It was taken to an exotic veterinarian in the city where it would be held on a five-day stray hold until the owner could pick it up, per Yahoo! News.

But what is a it?

According to the National Park Service, a coatimundi, or coati, is a member of the raccoon family typically found in warm climates from Arizona to South America. Its long snout and flexible nose help it forage through soil to find grubs, and it has "excellent climbing skills" that it uses to find nuts and berries in trees.

With no idea who they owner could be, Raleigh Police took to social media for the public's help, sharing a photo of the coati on the department's official Facebook page.

By Wednesday, however, the department was able to share the happy news that they found the coati's owner. Check out the unique creature below.