Features
Adopt an animal!
Do you have a favorite animal? Furry, hairy, scaly or feathered that makes you want to visit it? more
Locate Us
Drop by the Zoological Wildlife Foundation facility and come visit our animal friends. Find out how to locate us here
Read Our Reviews
Follow Us
Home | Animals | Mammals | Viverridae | Binturong
Binturong
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Viverridae |
| Subfamily: | Paradoxurinae |
| Genus: | Arctictis Temminck, 1824 |
| Species: | A. binturong |
Description
Being burly and omnivorous, the Binturong is sometimes compared to a bear, but is closer in size to a large domestic cat. Its average length is usually between 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 (49 lb) or more. Its body is covered with coarse and thick black fur. It has lighter or silver fur on its face, to make it appear larger to other animals. The tail, bushy and fully prehensile, can act as a fifth hand and is nearly as long as the animal's own length. Binturongs are the only carnivore with a prehensile tail. The ears of the Binturong are small and rounded, and it has small eyes. Male binturongs are 20 % bigger then female binturongs.
Diet
It eats primarily fruit, but also has been known to eat eggs, shoots, leaves, and small animals, such as rodents or birds.
Habitat
ts natural habitat is in trees of forest canopy in rainforest of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.