Binturong

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Binturong

The Binturong (Arctictis binturong), also known as the Asian Bearcat, the Palawan Bearcat, or simply the Bearcat, is a species of the family Viverridae, which includes the civet

Civet

The family Viverridae is made up of 35 species, including all of the genet , the Binturong, most of the civets, and the four linsangs.Viverrids are native to most of the Old World tropics, nearly all of Africa , Madagascar, and the Iberian Peninsula....
s and genet

Genet (animal)

Genets are Old World carnivores of the family Viverridae, related to civets and linsangs. All species are contained within the genus Genetta, although the Aquatic Genet, is sometimes housed in its own genus Osbornictis....
s. It is neither a bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives....
nor a cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
, and the real meaning of the original name is lost, as the local language that gave it is extinct. Its natural habitat is in trees of forest canopy

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750?2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests....
in rainforest of Bangladesh

Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
, Bhutan

Bhutan

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by India and to the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China....
, Burma, China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, Indonesia

Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, Laos

Laos

Laos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west....
, Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
, Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and is the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by India....
, the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, Thailand

Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
, and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
.

It is nocturnal

Nocturnal animal

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Binturong'

Start a new discussion about 'Binturong'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The Binturong (Arctictis binturong), also known as the Asian Bearcat, the Palawan Bearcat, or simply the Bearcat, is a species of the family Viverridae, which includes the civet

Civet

Genet (animal)

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives....
nor a cat

Cat

Rainforest

Bangladesh

Bhutan

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, India

India

Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, Laos

Laos

Malaysia

Nepal

Philippines

Thailand

Vietnam

Nocturnal animal

As an animal behavior, nocturnality describes sleeping during the daytime and being active at night - the opposite of the diurnal animal human lifestyle, and that of those animals with which we are most familiar....
and sleeps on branches. It eats primarily fruit, but also has been known to eat eggs, shoots, leaves, and small animals, such as rodents or birds. Deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation is the logging or burning of trees in forested areas. There are several reasons for doing so: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and are used by humans while cleared land is used as pasture, plantations of commodities and human settlement....
has greatly reduced its numbers. When cornered, the Binturong can be vicious. The Binturong can make chuckling sounds when it seems to be happy and utter a high-pitched wail if annoyed. The Binturong can live over 20 years in captivity; one has been recorded to have lived almost 26 years.

Physical

Its bushy tail is fully prehensile

Prehensile tail

A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has Adaptation to be able to grasp and/or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees....
, and acts as a fifth hand. Being burly and omnivorous

Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eating both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively....
, the Binturong is sometimes compared to a bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives....
, but is closer in size to a small dog

Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
. Its average length ranges 60–96 cm (24–38 in), and average weight ranges between 9–14 kg (20–31 lb), although some exceptional individuals have been known to weigh 22 kg (50 lb) or more. The tail is nearly as long as the body with size ranging from 55–90 cm (22–36 in). The ears are small and rounded, and it has small eyes. It has coarse and thick black fur.

Reproduction

The estrous period

Estrous cycle

The oestrous cycle comprises the recurring physiology changes that are induced by sexual reproduction hormones in most mammalian placental females....
of the Binturong is 81 days, with a gestation

Gestation

Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during mammalian pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
of 91 days. The Binturong is one of approximately 100 species of mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
believed by many husbandry experts to be capable of embryonic diapause

Embryonic diapause

Embryonic diapause or Delayed implantation is a reproductive strategy used by close to 100 different mammals in seven different order . In embryonic diapause, the embryo does not immediately implant in the uterus, but is maintained in a state of dormancy....
, or delayed implantation, which allows the female of the species to time parturition

Childbirth

Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the delivery of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus. The process of normal human childbirth is categorized in three stages of labour: the shortening and dilation of the cervix, descent and delivery of the infant, and delivery of the placenta.....
to coincide with favorable environmental conditions. Typical birthing is of two offspring, but up to six may occur.

Behavior

The Bearcat climbs trees and leaps from branch to branch, using its tail and claws to cling while searching for food. It can rotate its hind legs backwards so that its claws still have a grip when climbing down a tree head first. The Binturong also uses its tail to communicate, through the scent gland located under it. The scent of Binturong musk is often compared to that of warm popcorn

Popcorn

Popcorn or popping corn is a type of maize, which explodes from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn popping was originally discovered by Native Americans in the United States, but became popular as a snack food during the United States Great Depression....
and cornbread. This comparison was made by zoologist Ron McGill on the Today Show, when he presented a bearcat along with several other animals. The Binturong brushes its tail against trees and howls to announce its presence to other Binturongs.

The Orang Asli

Orang Asli

Orang Asli is a general term used for any indigenous groups that are found in Peninsular Malaysia. They are divided into three main tribal groups – Semang , Senoi, and Proto-Malay ....
of Malaysia

Malaysia

Ecological significance

The Binturong is an important disperser of strangler figs, because of its ability to scarify the seeds tough outer covering. This makes the Binturong an important animal for seed dispersal.

Subspecies

Six subspecies are recognized (A. b. albifrons, A. b. binturong, A. b. kerkhoveni, A. b. memglaensis, A. b. penicillatus, and A. b. whitei). The Palawan Binturong (A. b. whitei) of the Philippines

Philippines

Vulnerable species

A vulnerable species is a species which is likely to become Endangered species unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve....
due to habitat destruction

Habitat destruction

Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species originally present. In this process, plants and animals which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity....
and poaching

Poaching

Poaching is the illegal hunting, fishing or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international Conservation and wildlife management laws....
for its medicinal uses, its fur and its demand in the pet trade.

Cultural Significance

Using the name Bearcat, the Binturong is the mascot of various collegiate institutions. Among them are Binghamton University

Binghamton University

Binghamton University or State University of New York at Binghamton is one of the four university centers in New York State?s system of post-secondary public education State University of New York....
, the University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public university research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio, part of the University System of Ohio....
, McKendree University, and Baruch College

Baruch College

Bernard M. Baruch College, known more commonly as Baruch College is a public university and one of the constituent colleges comprising the City University of New York ....
.

External links

Palawan Council