Photo:  Meagan Thomas 

A recently-arrived group of Coatis has settled into Melbourne Zoo so well that they have produced three litters, with a total of 21 kittens.

The kittens have been secluded in nest boxes for the first weeks of their lives.

The Zoo Veterinarian Dr. Helen McCracken gave the nine kittens in one litter a checkup and vaccinated them against three potential diseases with the F3 vaccination.

She also gave each kitten a micro-chip to ensure that accurate records can be kept of each individual's growth and any veterinary treatments he/she may need.

A second litter of eight kittens will be checked in another week or two.

There are four adult females and one male in the breeding group, selected by the international breeding program to create a genetically diverse breeding group.

Coatis belong to the larger Raccoon family, which includes 17 species, all native to the Americas. This species is native to Arizona, Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador.

They are very skilled climbers, known for descending trees head first. Their long tails are used as balancing rods to assist when they're climbing.

Coatis are omnivores, eating insects, fruits, other vegetation, and meat.

In the wild, a new mother will typically keep her kittens isolated in her nest for 6 to 10 weeks before rejoining the band.

All the adult females cooperate in looking after all the young, protecting them from predators and grooming them. When a female briefly leaves the group to find food, the other females will keep an eye on her kittens.

In their native habitat, males visit groups of females in the breeding season, and then leave the females to raise their kittens together.

This behaviour led early researchers to assume that the lone animals belonged to a separate species, which they called Coatimundis, meaning ‘lone coati' in the local language, Guarani.