What you're looking at was something I discovered over on the Smithsonian's site.
It's a researcher in Panama in 1927 named Molino. I don't have any other information about the man in the photo.
The caption simply reads:
"Coati (Nasua nasua) attacking Molino due to noise of shaking keys"
Having worked closely with coatis, I learned that this sound drives them crazy! It can be clattering silverware on the floor or the jangling of a set of keys like in the photo above. Because there's nobody out wandering around dropping their silverware or jangling their set of keys in the wild, many who study the coati wonder why the sound triggers such an aggressive response from most that hear it or similar metallic noises. I've seen coati rolled cat toys around like they might a tarantula if they were in the wild...without ever learning the behavior or ever having had an interaction with a tarantula.
I would love to hear peoples' thoughts as to what it is about jangling keys or metallic sounds that causes the coati to go a little mad. It's a fascinating response and behavior that I've always been curious to learn about.
Would love to hear some theories.
