This is the hilarious moment a coati snatches a bag of chips from a table before being chased off a beach in Brazil.
A viral video showed the furry creature approaching a picnic table on the island of Campeche, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, while sniffing around for food when it caught the attention of beachgoers.
The animal grabbed the bag with its mouth and began to leave quickly when a woman at the table was surprised by the uninvited visitor.
A man could be seen standing in front of the four-legged creature and trying to stop it from leaving with its snack.
At first, the coati proved to be a bit fast before the swimmer finally caught up to him and managed to snatch the bag of chips.
A coati was seen snatching a bag of chips from a beachgoer’s table on a beach in Brazil before the furry creature was intercepted and the bag of snacks was taken from him.
A man runs after a coati on a beach in Santa Catarina before recovering the bag of chips that the quadruped had stolen from his table
Michael Cordeiro told Brazilian news outlet G1 that he recorded the confrontation because it was rare to see the coati up close.
‘He is very modest. I only filmed it because it is not common for me to see a coati…” she said. ‘I was filming the cute coati. Out of nowhere, he grabs it and tries to steal the packets of potatoes from the people who were on the beach.
Coatis are native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Brazil’s Military Environmental Police urges not to feed the animals and warned that they can bite.
Christian Raboch, a biologist, told the outlet that people should refrain from providing food to coatis because they can quickly become accustomed to the food that humans eat.
“So when they see the human being, they think that the human being is a source of food,” he explained. ‘And then, they come to look for a banana, they come to look for a snack, some popcorn.’
Coatis are native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Authorities warn people not to approach coatis for fear that health problems could arise if they are bitten.
Raboch warned that coatis can develop ‘health problems’ if they consume processed foods.
“They begin to gain fat, they begin to become more lethargic, even more so, apart from the other complications that they can end up causing,” he said.
Although the man emerged victorious from the confrontation by retrieving the bag of chips, prompting laughter from beachgoers, Raboch said the incident could have had serious consequences.
‘Also, sometimes people want to back out and that animal may end up defending itself. It is a wild animal, from the moment they corner it, they scare it, it can end up scratching, it can end up biting or even transmit a disease to humans,’ he stated.