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prettygoodwordkinkajou (KING-kuh-joo) - n., a nocturnal arboreal omnivorous mammal (Potos flavus) of tropical Central and South America with a long prehensile tail, large eyes, and yellowish-brown fur.
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The only procyonid with a prehensile tail, actually. Though technically omnivorous, they mostly eat fruit, which is possible year-round in the rain-forest. Because they are nocturnal and reclusive, for a long time European naturalists did not know much about them, and due to a superficial resemblance for a while thought they were related to ferrets or other mustelid, resulting in a name with a very odd etymology: it's from French, from earlier Canadian French quincajou, wolverine, from an Algonquian word, possibly Ojibwa gwiingwa'aage or Algonquin kwingwaage or Montagnais kuàkuàtsheu, or some blend of any of those and others. No, there have never been any Algonquian peoples anywhere near the range of kinkajous.
(TIL that Arapaho and Cheyenne are Algonquian languages, all the way across the plains from the Wampanoag that met the Pilgrims. Given the range of Cree and Ojibwe peoples, the possibility of this should have been clear SMH.)
---L.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
The only procyonid with a prehensile tail, actually. Though technically omnivorous, they mostly eat fruit, which is possible year-round in the rain-forest. Because they are nocturnal and reclusive, for a long time European naturalists did not know much about them, and due to a superficial resemblance for a while thought they were related to ferrets or other mustelid, resulting in a name with a very odd etymology: it's from French, from earlier Canadian French quincajou, wolverine, from an Algonquian word, possibly Ojibwa gwiingwa'aage or Algonquin kwingwaage or Montagnais kuàkuàtsheu, or some blend of any of those and others. No, there have never been any Algonquian peoples anywhere near the range of kinkajous.
(TIL that Arapaho and Cheyenne are Algonquian languages, all the way across the plains from the Wampanoag that met the Pilgrims. Given the range of Cree and Ojibwe peoples, the possibility of this should have been clear SMH.)
---L.
