Thursday, April 8, 2010

Coati Appears in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on the Playstation 3!

 
That's right, coati fans! Coatis have made an appearance in a videogame!  And not just any videogame.
In 2007's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the Playstation 3, your character Nathan Drake is on a modern day Indiana Jones-esque adventure.  During the course of the game, the player will occasionally notice very small flashes of light in out of the way places that denote the location of a 'treasure' that Drake can add to his relics.  Two of these relics are a gold coatimundi statue as well as a silver coatimundi statue (see pic)!
   Being a long-time gamer and hardcore coatimundi fan, you can't even begin to understand how excited I was when I noticed one of these small flashing objects behind a crate, directed Drake over to it, picked it up and finally saw it come up on my 'items' list!  I had no idea that the game contained this little statue and was ecstatic when my inventory list told me I'd just picked up a coatimundi statue! Just. Awesome!
  While I only found the silver coati statue, I'll be going back for the other soon.
   Just had to share this with all of you coatimundi fans who aren't into playing videogames just because it's kinda cool how this amazing little critter sneaks into just about everything.
  Now, game developers: When are we gonna get a game with a coati as the central character?  Seriously!
  Enjoy the two videos below showing the location and collecting of the statues.

 The Gold Coatimundi Statue


The Silver Coatimundi Statue:

Thursday, March 4, 2010

On the Search for Charlie Crowfoot and the Coatimundi - Part 1

  
  A couple of years ago I happened to be at work and came across a huge volume of a book containing all of Disney's films, television shows and animated films since the company began.  It was fascinating to see some of the projects that Disney helmed over the years.  The entire book was alphabetized.  When I got to the middle of the 'C' pages (I could've said "'C' section'" but that'd be a horrible pun...so I included it in these parantheses instead) that things got really interesting.  Why?
  A film called Charlie Crowfoot and the Coatimundi was listed.
  I froze a little with excitement and reread the title and description again.  Whaaaaat?  Disney made a film featuring my favorite little terror of the forest?  Are you kidding?
  Two minutes later I was emailing Dave Smith, the Disney archivist whose brain should've exploded long ago with all the Disney knowledge that he stores there, about the film.  I never received a response.  Not too long after that Dave retired as archivist and I was back where I started with nothing but a blurb in a book.
   I would LOVE to see a copy of this film!
  Since that day I've been looking for all the information I can find regarding the film.  
  For the last year I've all but given up on locating a copy.  Today, on a whim, I decided to start up the hunt again to see if I can, in fact, locate a copy of what's sure to be a fun look at a coati in a full-length film. 
  Here's the first discovery on what's sure to be an interesting road to securing an actual copy of the film.
  If YOU have any information regarding the film?  Please feel free to send it my way.  
  And if you have a copy of the film Charlie Crowfoot and the Coatimundi?  You know how to get in touch with me.
   North Carolina Rock Herald Newspaper from September 17, 1971 (or click on the photo above to read a larger version of the image)

Friday, January 29, 2010

Coatimundi Day is February 1st at New Jersey Zoo!

  While perusing some news feeds, I came across something I hadn't heard of before, Coatimundi Day!
Similar to Groundhog Day when Punxsutawney Phil peeps out to give everyone the news on winter, Coatimundi Day comes a day early to the Cohanzick Zoo in Bridgeton, New Jersey.
  For more about what sounds like a fun event for coati lovers, check out the article below.  Also check out the official Groundhog Day site further down.
  If any of you have pictures of more information about the event?  Please don't hesitate to send it my way!  Would love to post some pics anyone would be willing to share.
 
Coatimundi Day at Cohanzick Zoo in Bridgeton, New Jersey
The Official Groundhog Day Site

"It gets cold in Dawson Creek, especially for a coatimundi."

  Once again people decide that hoarding exotics is a way to 'be cool'.  Here's a story that hit the radar about two weeks ago.  It's your typical wealthy people purchasing wild animals for a collection or just say 'look at me, look at me'.
  I felt that this story should be posted in the Collected Coatimundi because one of the animals who seemed to have the most trauma was a little coatimundi.
  "The coatimundi was being kept in a dog crate and had chewed its own paws, Ms. Moriarty said."
  Just reading that quote and thinking about such an intelligent, social animal like a coati being housed in a tiny dog crate where a horrible neurotic behavior like this can develop breaks my heart.
  I just don't get it the reasoning.  I never will.
  Read the rest of the story in the link below:

Dawson Creek couple receives $700 fine for animal cruelty

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Logan's Run - Christmas just seems appropriate for this story.


 
If you're looking at the picture on the right and your heart is breaking?  I'm right there with you.  A couple of years ago I came across this photo during a Google image search for coatimundis.  Immediately I clicked on the image to find out more about the story behind the photo.  To my shock, this damage was committed by a human being who'd dumped this poor little guy into the snow where he fended for himself during several winter storms for EIGHT DAYS!
  You can read all about Logan's rescue, his fight for survival, the amazing people who cared for him and his tear-jerking recovery.
  After I'd found the site and read Logan's Blog I really wanted to contribute and find out more about his current condition.  Because the site is so unorganized, it's really difficult to find out what's happening with him as of this writing.  I've sent several emails through the site but have yet to get some kind of response (that was during '07 when the blog was more active).  Deciding to post this whole story about this poor little coati also prompted me to send a few more emails in hopes of finding out what ever happened to Logan.
  I'll keep you posted if I hear anything.
  To read this story in a more organized fashion than the original site allows you to, I'm posting links to the various pages in an order that's easier to digest.
  One word of warning.  The photo gallery can be hard to look at for some people.  If you have a hard time looking at images of injured appendages?  I suggest you steer clear of the photos.  To get yourself fired up and motivated to help centers that do this kind of rescue work?  By all means look at the photos.  Nothing will piss you off faster or make you take action quicker than seeing what occurred to this little guy because someone just decided to toss him out the window.

Looking for Logan and His Rescue!

The Original Press Release When The Story Broke

Logan's Blog

Logan's Photo Gallery (w/o surgical photos)

Logan's Surgery Photos (Not for the squeamish) See what this poor little guy had to endure.

  Sorry to be a downer during this time of year, but Logan's battle for survival is a reminder of how we should all be looking out for each other.  And that includes the smallest of us.  That includes Logan.
  Take care of each other.
  Tony

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Thanksgiving, Coati-style.

Hey, everyone!
  While I stuff myself with anything that's in a dish and on the table, I thought I'd take a moment to share this YouTube video.
  Thought that this video would be fitting for Thanksgiving since the coati featured in it is obviously thankful that someone would be so stupid to open their lunch bag with my favorite little troublemaker nearby.
  Happy Belated Thanksgiving, people!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

What exactly IS a Coatimundi? For the uninitiated.

One thing that never crossed my mind when I first began this blog was that not everyone knows what a coati is.  You mention the name and people just kind of give you that look like you just spoke a different language.  While this blog is for fans of this little critter, I'd be pretty stupid not to include a little background about the coati for people unfamiliar with them.
My personal quick description for common people to really grasp what a coatimundi can be like?  Consider a three-year-old ADD child on crack who likes to work on stuff...all...the..time.  Sums it all up really quick.
There's some really good information in the Wikipedia entry on the coati:
Wikipedia Coati Entry

And another source that the Coati Wiki links to has some VERY useful information on those that, for whatever reason, decide that a coati would make a good pet (I do NOT advocate them as pets unless you've had exotic experience for a couple of years and are a VERY patient, caring, understanding and intelligent pet owner).

Mundoandino Argentina

Hope these links help with really grasping just how interesting this unique little animal is.

Take care.