Binturong - Arctictis binturong
This week shows another species native to South East Asia, the Binturong, also known as the Bearcat, sharing much of its distribution with last week's species, the Asian Short-Clawed Otter. Including, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Yunnan Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
However, unlike the Asian Short-Clawed Otter, the Binturong is Arboreal, meaning they can climb, travel, and live in trees, other examples of arboreal animals include, Orangutans, Trees Kangaroos, and Flying Lemurs. Binturongs are excellent climbers, with their prehensile tail being an excellent tool acting like a third hand, gripping around branches. However, they're not very acrobatic, meaning they usually climb back down to get from tree to tree. Being arboreal animals they are found in tall forests and hill forests.
Taken by Callum Florit at Longleat Zoo
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Despite its other name, the Bearcat, it's not actually related to either Bears or Cats. Binturongs are in the Viverridae family, which includes species such as, Civets, Genets, and Oyans.
Much like other Viverrids, they are omnivorous and in the wild will naturally eat; birds, fish, worms, insects, and fruits, and in the wild they actually play an important role in seed dispersal from the fruit they eat, helping to replant the forests.
Taken by Callum Florit at Longleat Zoo
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Binturongs have been seen to be active both during the day and night, but generally speaking, they normally sleep during the day, high in the forest canopy, and enjoy basking in the sun.
Binturongs are considered to be solitary, meaning living alone, but will stay together during the raising of their young, of which they can normally have 1 or 2 but can be up to 6 per litter, with Binturongs thought to be monogamous like our previously talked about species.
They have a lot of different ways to communicate, like vocal calls and a distinct odor which can be used to identify each other and also mark territories, this odor apparently smells like popcorn.
Binturongs have been known to live up to 25 years in captivity.
Taken by Callum Florit at Longleat Zoo
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Much like the Short-Clawed Otter from last week's post, the Binturong is also classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List which means the species is likely to become endangered unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve.
The Binturong face many reasons for their vulnerability, the main cause is habitat loss and destruction of habitat, much like the Short-Clawed Otter. The reason for the destruction and loss of habitat is for residential and commercial development such as housing and urban areas as well as agriculture and aquaculture developments for wood and pulp plantations.
These wood and pulp plantations are for commercial timber, fiber, and paper and these types of plantations are becoming an increasing problem.
On top of these threats, which are a big enough of a problem by themselves, the Binturong also face hunting. Binturong are hunted for their meat (as it is considered a delicacy in these parts of the world), for their skin, and for the illegal pet trade. As discussed within last week's post about the Asian Short-Clawed Otter the illegal pet trade is a huge issue for many species within Asia, and the Binturong is among the most frequently displayed live species in cages.
Their wild population is unknown but we know and it's obvious that they have a decreasing population trend.
There are survival programs among zoos to help keep these beautiful animals alive.
All the photos within this post were taken by myself at Longleat Zoo, where they have a lovely enclosure with many different levels fulfilling their arboreal needs.
I am a firm believer that education can be a beneficial tool in the conservation of animals, the more people that are educated on the threats to these animals, the more that can be done about them, and if you can educate the people at the very center of these threats then possibly we can stop the threat at the very center. Many of these threats if not all that these Binturong face are just purely unnecessary and avoidable, and I personally think education can be a helpful tool for these problems.
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Thank you for stopping by, hopefully, you can share this knowledge with others.
Photos were taken by myself at Longleat Zoo Safari Park
