Exotic Kinkajou Crashes Elderly Woman's Home

MIAMI, FL — Goldilocks and the three bears have nothing on an exotic pet from Miami that seems to enjoy sneaking into homes in search of snuggles.

That was the case Tuesday when a 99-year-old Miami woman was sound asleep and suddenly felt something on her chest. The unexpected weight caused her to wake up only to discover there was “an animal curled up sleeping on her chest,” veterinarian Don Harris was quoted by WTSP as saying.

That sleeping animal turned out to be a kinkajou, an exotic critter than normally calls the rainforests of South and Central America home. The woman and the odd-looking creature “both freaked out,” Harris said, and the kinkajou beat a retreat to the lady’s attic.

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The woman and her daughter were able to lure the critter out of the attic and took it to Harris for safekeeping. As it turns out, the critter, which resembles a monkey, but is really more closely related to a raccoon, is someone’s pet, the Miami Herald reported. The little escapee and its owner were expected to be reunited Wednesday.

Kinkajous are omnivores that live in troops. They are sometimes called “honey bears” because they enjoy using their long tongues to “slurp honey from a hive,” the National Geographic reports. The creatures are nocturnal and are considered highly social within their own troops.

The Miami woman isn’t the only South Florida resident to have an unusual run-in with a creature in recent days. A Naples mother and daughter were recently delighted when a pair of bear cubs decided to try on their backyard trampoline for size. Just last week, an Islamorada man was startled to find a crocodile swimming in his pool.

Photo courtesy of Inform video and WPLG