A kinkajou in Chicago

I heard this on news radio on my way home from work... the story has a happy ending, the kinkajou's owner has claimed his pet.

From ABC7Chicago.com
June 4, 2010 (CHICAGO) -- Animal control experts have captured a small, furry critter with a long tail in a Chicago neighborhood -- more than 2,000 miles from where it belongs.

The kinkajou was found taking a nap on a front porch Thursday in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. Nobody knew what it was until Lincoln Park Zoo experts identified it as a kinkajou.

Kinkajous are, according to the National Geographic Web site, related to the raccoon. They're typically found not on Chicago porches but in the trees of tropical forests in Central and South America.

Animal control experts suspect it was an escaped pet.

Officials are waiting for someone to claim the animal -- which is not illegal to own in Illinois.