It's not the first time it was spotted in the area, either.

There was an unexpected visitor at Cork Airport this morning as an animal native to the jungles of South America was spotted at the perimeter. Photos of the ring-tailed coati, also known as the South American coati, were shared by the airport's official social media accounts. A spokesperson for the airport took to social media to explain that the animal had previously been spotted in Ballygarvan, before making its way to the airport itself. It is not immediately clear where exactly the animal came from; if it had escaped from a zoo, was being kept as a pet and had escaped, or what the situation is. The social media statement added that the owner of the animal could bring it home once Fota Wildlife had assisted in the rescue operation. They wrote on Facebook:

"A ring tailed coatimundi a native of South America, previously spotted in Ballygarvan near Cork Airport, has been found at our perimeter fence. "Owner can bring it home once our friends from Fota wildlife have assisted in the rescue operation."

https://www.facebook.com/FlyCork/posts/2517973011561706 It comes as the ring-tailed coatimundi had been spotted in the area a few weeks ago. While it's not clear if it is the exact same one, we imagine it would be pretty unlikely to have to two ring-tailed coatimundis scampering around. John Hall told the Irish Examiner that he had spotted the critter in his back garden around two weeks ago - and took to social media to confirm what exactly it was. He continued:

“I spotted him in the garden at around 11am. “I then followed him as he headed down the hill in the direction of Bridgies Bar before he hopped into an adjacent field when a car approached.”

A fully grown coatimundi can weigh as much as 7.2kg and measure more than 3.5ft in length - with more than half of that being its tail. Mr Hall continued:

“I think this guy was around the three-foot mark. “He was in very good nick as far as I could tell. He wasn’t afraid of humans either. He didn’t take off when I walked into the garden. “He just casually moved along after relaxing in the sun for a few minutes.”