The Amazing Binturong

Binturongs are very interesting animals. They are more commonly known as bearcats, but binturongs are neither bears nor cats. They belong to a family which includes civets and fossas. Binturongs have a prehensile tail which basically acts like another limb and is used for balance and grip. A binturong is one of the only two carnivores to have a prehensile tail. They also have ankles that can rotate 180 degrees, so they can climb down a tree headfirst. Padded paws and long claws are good for tree climbing because binturongs spend most of their time up in trees. Binturongs have good vision day or night, but they are mostly nocturnal.

Although binturongs are classified as carnivores, they mostly eat fruit. Other food in a binturong’s diet includes fish, small mammals, vegetables, or anything that they can get their paws on. Binturongs aren’t on the menu of other animals because they have no known predators.

One strange thing about binturongs is their scent. Binturongs smell like buttered popcorn. The popcorn smell comes from an oil that they produce used to mark territory. This lets other binturongs know where to find a mate or where they should stay away from.

Now that you’ve learned something about these amazing animals, you should tell all your friends about binturongs.

Courtesy to google for the images.

Thank you Sandiegozoo.com for the information.