Canadian woman films a mystery animal approaching her table at a Mexican resort and says she’s scared, but commenters aren’t buying it

A TikTok video of a tourist’s run-in with a wild animal at a Mexican resort has sparked a split reaction online, with the poster genuinely rattled and most of the comments entirely unbothered. The clip, posted by Rachel Anese, shows her sitting at a restaurant when a small creature hops onto her table, grabs a piece of cake, and disappears. As first highlighted by BroBible, the footage has pulled in over 30,000 views.

Anese narrates the moment with visible alarm. “This just happened to me right now, and I caught it on video,” she says, adding, “I’m a little scared right now.” She also noted that she screamed and drew the attention of everyone in the restaurant. The animal, for its part, appeared focused entirely on the dessert.

The creature is a coati, also known as a coatimundi. These animals are relatives of the raccoon and are common across Mexico, Central America, South America, and parts of the American Southwest. They are small, red-brown animals with long snouts and striped tails. Anese later said in an email that seeing them is routine at her resort, noting there were “thousands around.”

Commenters weren’t exactly rushing to her side on this one

The comment section leaned heavily toward affection rather than alarm. “I’d be trying to bring him home with me!” wrote one user, while another suggested she could have given the animal a scratch behind the ear. A few sided with Anese, with one commenter saying, “I’d be in the same boat as U GIRL,” followed by “Heading 4 the door.”

Coatis are highly food-motivated and often travel in social bands of 10 to 30 individuals, which makes resort dining areas a natural target. Their foraging habits produce a fairly predictable pattern at tourist destinations in the region, and the reaction from visitors tends to vary widely. Mexico has drawn attention from travelers for other unexpected reasons recently as well, amid a shooting at the Teotihuacán pyramids that killed a Canadian tourist days before this story gained traction.

This is not the first coati encounter to go viral. Another creator, posting as @itsmissohio, previously shared footage of one making itself at home in a hotel bed. Commenters on that video told her to “cuddle that thing right now, young lady” and to “tuck him in and read him a bedtime story.” The pattern of startled tourists, charmed commenters, and split reaction sections has become familiar territory for this type of content, much like a recent viral TikTok airport video that drew millions of views and an equally divided comment section.

Experts advise travelers to keep their distance and avoid feeding coatis. While bite incidents are relatively rare, the animals remain unpredictable, and feeding them can encourage more aggressive behavior or draw larger groups to high-traffic areas. Keeping windows and doors closed and securing food near pools are simple ways to avoid close contact.

As Explore notes, local attitudes toward coatis tend to be far more relaxed than those of visiting tourists. A study in Brazil found that nearly 70% of respondents did not see them as a significant risk, and over 80% admitted to feeding them. Historical records even suggest the ancient Maya kept coatis as pets.

For resort travelers in Mexico, the coati is very much part of the landscape. Keeping food secured and maintaining a reasonable distance is usually enough to avoid the kind of startled moment Anese captured on camera.