A trail runner had an extraordinary encounter in the Börzsöny hills after spotting and filming an exotic South American animal wandering through the forest.
Out of place exotic animal runs around in Hungary
Dániel Bárdos was running towards the Hárombarát Saddle on Sunday afternoon when he noticed an unusual animal moving through the woodland. He quickly took out his phone and recorded the creature, which appears to be a coati, also known as a red-nosed coati, a relative of the raccoon native to South America.
‘It Wasn’t Particularly Interested in Me’
Dániel said the animal was clearly aware of his presence but showed little fear. It continued sniffing and searching for food while moving in his direction, eventually prompting the runner to move away himself. He later shared the footage in the ‘Csak a Börzsöny!’ Facebook group, describing the encounter as an unexpected meeting with a South American mammal.
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Is It the Same Coati Seen Last Year?
The sighting has raised questions because a similar animal was reported in the Börzsöny area on 21 November 2025. At the time, speculation suggested that the coati could have escaped from the Törökmező Tourist Centre and Small Animal Park near Nagymaros. The park did not officially confirm this, however, writes KEMMA.hu.
Following the latest sighting, the park reportedly confirmed that all of its coatis were accounted for. It said it would nevertheless work with the local municipality to try to locate the creature and would be willing to take it in if it was found to be healthy.
The park’s owner believes the animal may instead have escaped from private ownership. Although the two sightings occurred in the same region less than a year apart, there is currently no evidence that they involved the same individual.
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Coatis Are Prohibited in Hungary
Riezing Norbert of the Duna–Ipoly National Park Directorate said that keeping coatis is prohibited in Hungary. The species was added to the European Union’s list of invasive alien species of Union concern in 2016, bringing strict restrictions on keeping, breeding, reproducing and trading the animals.
Certain people who legally owned coatis before the rules took effect on 3 August 2016 were allowed to keep them for the remainder of their natural lives, provided they prevented the animals from escaping or reproducing. For now, the origin of the coati filmed in the Börzsöny remains a mystery.
