A Canadian woman’s Mexico vacation took an unexpected turn when a small, unidentified creature walked straight up to her restaurant table, grabbed her slice of cake, and bolted. She caught the whole thing on video. The clip hit TikTok and racked up over 30,000 views.
The TikToker, Rachel Anese (@rachelanese), narrated the moment in real time. “This just happened to me right now, and I caught it on video,” she said in the clip, first reported by BroBible. The animal sniffed around, hopped up onto the table, swiped the dessert from her plate, and ran off. “I’m a little scared right now,” Anese said. “And, oh my God. I just screamed, and everyone in here looked at me.”
What exactly took her cake
The animal is a coati, also called a coatimundi. It is a raccoon relative native to Mexico, Central America, and South America, and is also found in parts of Arizona and New Mexico. The creatures are recognizable by their long snouts, striped tails, and reddish-brown fur.
Anese later told BroBible via email that encounters like this were routine at her resort. She said it was “normal” to see the animals during mealtimes, and that there were “thousands around my resort.” Coatis are highly food-motivated and tend to move through resort areas in social bands of 10 to 30 animals, which makes outdoor dining spots a predictable stop on their foraging route.
TikTok was not scared at all
The comment section had little sympathy for Anese’s reaction. Most viewers were charmed by the animal rather than alarmed. “I’d be trying to bring him home with me!” one commenter wrote. Another told her: “You could’ve at least gave him a little scratch behind the ear.” A handful of users did side with her, including one who declared, “I’d be in the same boat as U GIRL. Heading 4 the door.”
This type of tourist-meets-coati moment has become a familiar genre on TikTok. Coatis have been spotted roaming pools, wandering through hotel rooms, and raiding plates at resorts across the Riviera Maya. One creator posting as @itsmissohio went viral after filming one settling into her hotel bed, drawing comments like “cuddle that thing right now, young lady.” Videos of wild animals casually infiltrating resort spaces have surged on the platform.
Should you worry if you see one
Experts say the answer is generally no. Bite incidents do happen but are relatively rare, and locals in the region live alongside coatis much the way people in other parts of the world coexist with raccoons. A study in Brazil found that nearly 70% of respondents did not view coatis as a problem, and more than 80% admitted to feeding them. Historical records even suggest the ancient Maya kept coatis as pets.
That said, wildlife experts recommend keeping a safe distance and avoiding feeding them directly. Food can trigger more aggressive behavior, and regular feeding near dining areas draws larger groups. If you’re bold enough to ask the server for something different, maybe just keep a closer eye on what’s on the table. And if your resort snacks are starting to disappear in ways you can’t explain, you might want to check your surroundings before blaming the kitchen, like this woman who found something unexpected growing inside a bag of potato chips but ate it anyway.
