Here’s how a South American honey bear made its way to Tacoma via a Yakima rest stop

Kinkajous are exotic animals native to the tropical rain forests of South and Central America. But this weekend, one such “honey bear” was captured at a Yakima rest stop and transported to its temporary new home: the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

State wildlife officials on Sunday secured the rogue kinkajou in a carrier in Yakima, where it was photographed lounging on a road sign. Authorities then transported the animal to the Tacoma zoo, 5400 N. Pearl St.

Officers with the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife quickly located the kinkajou, said spokesperson Becky Elder. The department contacted the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, which pointed them in the direction of Point Defiance Zoo.

“Thankfully, they were willing to take it,” Elder told The News Tribune. “So, we then drove the animal all the way from Yakima over to Point Defiance and handed him over.”

Google Maps estimates that the trek from Yakima to the Tacoma zoo is around 2 hours and 40 minutes.

A Yakima rest stop isn’t exactly the best place for a kinkajou. Elder said that aside from worries about the kinkajou’s health, the critter could potentially be a carrier of diseases that could harm other wildlife.

Kinkajous are related to raccoons and hang upside down from branches with prehensile tails, according to National Geographic. They earned the nickname “honey bear” because they slurp honey from bee hives.

The animals are not considered to be endangered, but they are targeted for the exotic-pet trade and for their fur.

On Tuesday, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium posted on X (Twitter) that the kinkajou is quarantined at its animal hospital.

Malia Somerville, Point Defiance Zoo’s general curator, doesn’t know how the animal found itself at a Yakima rest stop. As for why Point Defiance was chosen, Somerville thinks the zoo’s proximity played a role.

The zoo will soon perform a thorough veterinary health exam on the kinkajou, Somerville said. It appears to be a young male.

Point Defiance Zoo has previously featured a kinkajou, Somerville said, but there aren’t any other honey bears currently in its care.

Somerville said the zoo association is working to find the kinkajou his “forever home.” Details about when or where that will be are still being hammered out.

The tale of the kinkajou serves as a reminder that not all animals make good pets, she said. It also calls attention to the ills of wildlife trafficking. Not every exotic animal comes from a legal or ethical place.

For now, Somerville said, the zoo hasn’t given the little kinkajou a name: “We’re kind of waiting to see what his prognosis will be — what the long-term plan is for him — before we get too attached.”