Binturong
This animal lives at Colchester Zoo in Essex.
The binturong, also known as the bearcat is native to South and Southeast Asia.
The binturong is long and heavy, with short, stout legs. It has a thick coat of coarse black hair. The bushy and prehensile tail is thick at the root, gradually tapering, and curls inwards at the tip. The tail is nearly as long as the head and body, which ranges from 28 to 33 in. (71 to 84 cm), the tail is 26 to 27 in. (66 to 69 cm) long. The muzzle is short and pointed, somewhat turned up at the nose, and is covered with bristly hairs, brown at the points, which lengthen as they diverge, and form a peculiar radiated circle round the face. The eyes are large, black and prominent. The ears are short, rounded, edged with white, and terminated by tufts of black hair. There are six short rounded incisors in each jaw, two canines, which are long and sharp, and six molars on each side. The hair on the legs is short and of a yellowish tinge. The feet are five-toed, with large strong claws, the soles are padded and bare. The average weight of male binturong's is 29 lb. (13.3 kg) with females weighing 23 lb. (10.5 kg).
Binturong's are confined to tall rainforest and occurs from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Yunnan in China, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java in Indonesia and Palawan in the Philippines.
The binturong is essentially arboreal (tree living) and hey tend to live in the canopy of tropical forests. When sleeping they lie curled up with their strong tail wrapped around a branch. They seldom leaped, but climbed skilfully, albeit slowly, progressing with equal ease and confidence along the upper side of branches or, upside down, beneath them. They are mostly nocturnal but are seen during the day.
The binturong is omnivorous, feeding on small mammals, birds, insects, rodents, eggs and fruits. If available it will eat fish and earthworms. Figs are a major component of its diet.
Binturongs are usually solitary in the wild, coming together only to mate. Binturongs usually give birth to two babies, called binlets, at a time. They are born with their eyes closed, and they cling to their mother’s fur for the first few days of their lives. They stay with their mother until they are independent, usually around 6 to 8 weeks old and sometimes even longer.
Other than humans, binturongs have no known predators and in the wild, binturongs live about 16 to 18 years. In captivity they can live to be 25 years old.
Major threats to the binturong are habitat loss due to logging and conversion of forests to non-forest land-uses throughout the binturong's range. In the Philippines, it is captured for the wildlife trade, In parts of Laos, it is considered a delicacy and also traded as a food item to Vietnam. In Laos, it is one of the most frequently displayed caged live carnivores and skins are frequently traded. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List because of a declining population, that is estimated to have declined at least 30% since the mid-1980's.
Binturong
This animal lives at Colchester Zoo in Essex.
The binturong, also known as the bearcat is native to South and Southeast Asia.
The binturong is long and heavy, with short, stout legs. It has a thick coat of coarse black hair. The bushy and prehensile tail is thick at the root, gradually tapering, and curls inwards at the tip. The tail is nearly as long as the head and body, which ranges from 28 to 33 in. (71 to 84 cm), the tail is 26 to 27 in. (66 to 69 cm) long. The muzzle is short and pointed, somewhat turned up at the nose, and is covered with bristly hairs, brown at the points, which lengthen as they diverge, and form a peculiar radiated circle round the face. The eyes are large, black and prominent. The ears are short, rounded, edged with white, and terminated by tufts of black hair. There are six short rounded incisors in each jaw, two canines, which are long and sharp, and six molars on each side. The hair on the legs is short and of a yellowish tinge. The feet are five-toed, with large strong claws, the soles are padded and bare. The average weight of male binturong's is 29 lb. (13.3 kg) with females weighing 23 lb. (10.5 kg).
Binturong's are confined to tall rainforest and occurs from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Yunnan in China, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java in Indonesia and Palawan in the Philippines.
The binturong is essentially arboreal (tree living) and hey tend to live in the canopy of tropical forests. When sleeping they lie curled up with their strong tail wrapped around a branch. They seldom leaped, but climbed skilfully, albeit slowly, progressing with equal ease and confidence along the upper side of branches or, upside down, beneath them. They are mostly nocturnal but are seen during the day.
The binturong is omnivorous, feeding on small mammals, birds, insects, rodents, eggs and fruits. If available it will eat fish and earthworms. Figs are a major component of its diet.
Binturongs are usually solitary in the wild, coming together only to mate. Binturongs usually give birth to two babies, called binlets, at a time. They are born with their eyes closed, and they cling to their mother’s fur for the first few days of their lives. They stay with their mother until they are independent, usually around 6 to 8 weeks old and sometimes even longer.
Other than humans, binturongs have no known predators and in the wild, binturongs live about 16 to 18 years. In captivity they can live to be 25 years old.
Major threats to the binturong are habitat loss due to logging and conversion of forests to non-forest land-uses throughout the binturong's range. In the Philippines, it is captured for the wildlife trade, In parts of Laos, it is considered a delicacy and also traded as a food item to Vietnam. In Laos, it is one of the most frequently displayed caged live carnivores and skins are frequently traded. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List because of a declining population, that is estimated to have declined at least 30% since the mid-1980's.