Tico (originally known as Kiko the Skunk/Squirrel in the 1998 pilot) is an anthropomorphic purple squirrel and a friend of Dora's who lives in the forest. Spanish is his first language and occasionally speaks English. He wears a colorful striped vest and is usually seen driving his little yellow car, although he has been known to travel in a variety of vehicles, from helicopters to boats to a bicycle plane. He has purple fur, a round body, and small triangular stumps for arms and legs. He is Benny's best friend (revealed in Best Friends).
A four-year-old Spanish-speaking squirrel and a good friend to Dora. While Tico is young and playful, he can also be brave and heroic. Since Tico can operate any vehicle--everything from a bicycle-powered plane to a Super Spy boat-car--he has been known to save the day in a crisis. He is often found driving in his little yellow car or in his tree at the Nutty Forest.
Tico's function on the show is to help Dora teach the audience words and phrases in Spanish; Dora has to tell Tico something in Spanish, such as "Faster", "Stop", "Wait", or "Look out", and she asks the viewers at home to say it along with her. In some episodes, a different Spanish-speaking character (such as Señor Tucán) appears instead of Tico.
In the episode "Dora's First Trip", it was established that Boots had been friends with Tico before Dora met either of them, despite the fact that Boots and Tico speak two different languages.
Looks
Tico has purple fur, white eyes, magenta irises, a pink nose, black pupils, and a long tail. He wears a colorful striped vest consisting of colors orange, magenta, dark violet, lime, and blue.
Before he became a squirrel, in the pilot, Tico was originally a dark blue skunk with red hair and a yellow belly.
Tico has his own leitmotif that plays whenever he appears or is mentioned (A-C-G-A-C-G-A-C).
Tico first spoke English in Beaches with "Swiper, no swiping!", and later again in We're a Team!. It is possible this is the only English phrase he has learned, or he could simply be saying it phonetically without knowing its actual meaning.
Although a native Spanish-speaker throughout the series, Tico tries learning some English. Boots mentions that he will teach Tico English in First Day of School.
Tico can turn his vest into a lifejacket (just like Diego and Alicia).
In real life, Tico cannot drive cars because he has to be 16 or older to drive (although it does not apply here due to cartoon logic).
