Binturong Arctictis binturong

The Binturong, looking like a bear with cat's whiskers and sometimes called the Bearcat, is not a bear nor a cat but closely related to civets (themselves related to cats). The scientific name comes from the Greek for bear-weasel plus the local name for the animal.

The Binturong is native to forests of much of Southeast Asia and a small part of north-eastern South Asia but is uncommon and listed as vulnerable. Its population has suffered from hunting for its meat, fur, traditional medicine and the pet trade as well as deforestation.

It is mainly nocturnal but can be active by day. Like a bear, it has an omnivorous diet and is useful for seed dispersal of fruit.

The Binturong is an arboreal, forest-dwelling animal that climbs even upright trees extremely well. It can also swim.

The tail is prehensile like that of monkeys and their ankles rotate to assist in climbing. There are several subspecies over its range but all are rare and vulnerable.