Pelt island creature (5)
I believe the answer is:
coati
'creature' is the definition.
(mammal of Central and South America)
'pelt island' is the wordplay.
'pelt' becomes 'coat' (I've seen this in other clues).
'island' becomes 'i'.
'coat'+'i'='COATI'
(Other definitions for coati that I've seen before include "American mammal related to raccoon" , "omnivorous mammal" , "Kind of raccoon" , "wild animal" , "Tropical animal" .)