#how fortunate

binturongs are members of the viverridae family! while not true cats (who in and of themselves comprise a family, felidae), they are fairly close. they’re in the suborder feliformia, alongside cats, hyenas, civets, mongooses, and a few others

(image sourced from the article “Skull evolution and lineage diversification in endemic Malagasy carnivorans”, published by Royal Society Open Science)

as you can see here, viverridae’s most recent split was from the common ancestor that it shared with the (not yet distinct) families hyaenidae and herpestidae. this means that, outside of its own family, the binturong’s closest relatives are hyenas and mongooses!

viverrids are small-to-medium sized carnivorans with long, weasel-like bodies and tails and short legs. they are primarily arboreal, so this body plan helps them stay balanced and distribute their weight to climb higher. they are typically omnivorous and nocturnal. the binturong encapsulates these general traits quite well, i’d say!

I was having an online class and the teacher was showing us a documentary about wildlife around the world when this man popped up on the screen.

I didn't even turn off my mic and i literally yelled out "MeLnIk?!?!". Fortunately the teacher was not there, maybe she went out to do something else while we were watching the video.