Binturong

빈투롱

The binturong, or bearcat, is a shaggy black relative of civets that lives in Southeast Asian forests. It climbs slowly with a strong prehensile tail, and its scent is often likened to buttered popcorn.

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At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Borneo, Southeast Asian rainforests
Diet: Eats both plants and meat (omnivore)
Weight: about 14 kg
Length: about 1.4 m
Conservation status: Vulnerable (IUCN VU)
Habitat: rainforests

Quick answers

Where does the Binturong live?

It lives in rainforests. On the globe you can find it near Borneo, Southeast Asian rainforests.

How big is the Binturong?

It grows to about 1.4 m and 14 kg.

What does the Binturong eat?

Its diet: eats both plants and meat (omnivore).

Is the Binturong endangered?

It is listed as Vulnerable (IUCN VU).

The binturong, also called the bearcat, lives in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. Despite its nickname it is neither a bear nor a cat; it belongs to the civet family. It has long, thick, mostly dark hair, and a long bushy tail that can grip branches.

Binturongs spend most of their time in trees and are mostly active at night. Their scent glands give off a smell often compared to buttered popcorn. The IUCN lists the binturong as Vulnerable. It is the only species in its genus Arctictis, and its thick, long hair can also be whitish speckled. It is mostly nocturnal but also active at dawn and dusk.

What does it eat?

The binturong is an omnivore. It eats fruit and other plants, insects and small animals. Moving slowly through the branches, it uses its prehensile tail as a fifth limb to hold on. Its thick, long hair gives the animal its shaggy look, and the tail is long, bushy and prehensile, working like an extra hand. The binturong is the only species in its genus, but nine subspecies have been proposed, from Malaysia, Vietnam, Palawan, Borneo, Thailand, Nias, Java, Bangka and Yunnan.

Odd tricks and troubles

Females can use delayed implantation, which means a fertilised egg waits before attaching to the womb until conditions are good. The biggest threats are the loss of forests and illegal hunting and trade. Its name comes from the Malay language, and the British naturalist Thomas Stamford Raffles named it in 1822 from an animal found in Malacca. Because it is shy and spends its life in the trees, few people ever see a binturong in the wild, and much remains to be learned about its daily life.

Fun facts

Its scent smells like buttered popcorn, thanks to the same chemical that gives popcorn its smell.
Its musk smells like buttered popcorn.
The genus name Arctictis means 'bear-weasel'.
Nine subspecies have been suggested, from Malaysia to Yunnan.