![]() They have been known to eat carrion, small invertebrates, eggs, leaves, and plant shoots, too.Īt the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, binturongs eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, a fortified, meat-based commercial carnivore diet, and low-starch, high-fiber primate biscuits.īinturongs have an important job in the forests where they are found. They are classified as carnivores but eat most anything that suits their fancy: mainly fruits, but also vegetables, birds, small mammals, and fish. Other than humans, binturongs have no known predators.īinturongs may smell like popcorn, but it’s not on their menu. ![]() Claws are kept sharp by scratching them on tree trunks. They groom their coats like cats do, licking and nibbling their fur, and cleaning their face with their front paws. Like sloths, binturongs have long, shaggy coats that keep their skin dry. Because of this, they have often been confused with sloths. Binturongs are primarily nocturnal and move slowly through their home in the trees to look for fruit. These bearcats generally sleep during the day high in the forest canopy and love to bask in the sun. The binturong is the only mammal from Africa, Asia, or Europe and one of only two carnivores with a prehensile tail (the other is the kinkajou).īinturongs can swim fairly well and have good vision day or night, and so can be active at any hour they choose.īinturongs are also known as Asian bearcats and Malay civet cats. Binturong youngsters have been seen hanging upside down while completely supported by their tail, but adults are a bit too heavy to do this without using a paw or two for an extra grip. A leathery patch at the tip helps the tail grip the branches a binturong climbs through. Unlike a bear or human, though, binturongs can turn their ankles 180 degrees so their claws can still grip when climbing down a tree headfirst.Ī binturong’s tail is very thick and muscular at the base, with the last third of it prehensile to be used like an extra hand when climbing around in the treetops. They walk flat-footed, and, when waddling on the ground, they tend to amble much like a bear does. Their body is low to the ground, like a bear or a human. Padded paws and long claws help them grasp branches. Their long ear tufts and reddish-brown eyes give them an endearing appearance but one that isn’t seen very often by humans.īinturongs spend most of their time in the trees, but they usually have to climb down to get from tree to tree, since they are not nearly as acrobatic as monkeys. ![]() Binturongs are classed as carnivores but eat mostly fruit. ![]() The hair coloration on binturongs can vary from black to brown with white, silver, or rust on the tips, which gives the binturong a grizzled appearance. Instead, they are related to civets and fossas but look more like gigantic dust mops and smell like a freshly made batch of popcorn! Binturongs are also called bearcats, but that name is rather misleading since they are not related to bears OR cats. Seuss might have dreamed up, a binturong has a face like a cat's and a body like a bear's, long, shaggy black hair, stiff white whiskers, and a prehensile tail that’s as long as its body. It's a what? It’s a binturong! Looking like something Dr.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |