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Wildlife with all its beautiful, unique landscapes and incredible creatures, is full of wonders and intrigues. Sometimes you can see an unusual animal or plant, striking in its beauty, or vice versa - frightening. At the word predator immediately appears a terrible large animal with sharp fangs. But some predators cause only emotion and a desire to stroke. These predators include the little-known binturong.
Looking at him, it may come to his head that his face is like a cat's, and his body is like that of a bear, with long shaggy black hair, a stiff gray mustache and a long tail. It is a carnivore with a tenacious tail; which is adapted to capture various things. Binturong smells like a fresh batch of popcorn. It is also sometimes called the “bear cat”, but this name is misleading, as these animals are not associated with bears or cats.
Binturong belongs to the Viverra family, an ancient group of small and medium-sized mammals that live only in the Old World (eastern hemisphere). This family, which also contains civet, genet, is one of the most diverse of all predatory families, covering 66 species, distributed throughout Europe, Africa and India. There are 9 different subspecies of binturong, which differ slightly in appearance, but are most easily distinguished by geographical location and size.
Description
Binturong is unique compared to other carnivorous mammals because it has an atrial tip to its tail, which serves the animal as another leg, helping both with climbing and with grabbing branches to give the animal stability. The animals have large bulging eyes, a white, thick and long mustache, which are too sensitive, and are located on the cheeks, sticking up above the brown eyes.
Where do they live
Binturong is found in South and Southeast Asia. Its wide distribution range extends from Java Island in Indonesia to Yunnan in South China. The countries where Binturong lives include: Nepal, Bangladesh, India, China, Indonesia, Bhutan. Although they are still present in some countries, their numbers are rapidly declining and it is very difficult to detect them there. They live in moist, dense tropical jungle and high forests that are close to water.
Character, lifestyle
Binturong is basically a nocturnal animal that spends most of its time moving slowly between trees. Since the animals are quite large, they cannot jump between trees, so they must first go down to move to a neighboring tree.
These animals are wonderful climbers, and move well through the trees, resting on their strong legs, semi-extendable claws, and also a fairly tenacious tail. Binturong also knows how to swim and dive perfectly. He is often found in a pond, so that his body cools down in extreme heat.They usually live alone, but small groups of representatives of the species are not uncommon, and usually consist of two adult animals, as well as their cubs.
The beast is known as a rather vocal animal that makes a number of sounds, with the help of which it communicates with other biunturongs and warns them if they see danger. They can reproduce giggling sounds when they look happy, or howl piercingly when they feel danger.
Like the rest of the Wyverrov family, Binturong has odorous glands that are located under the tail. These glands are used to mark trees and foliage when marking an individual territory, and are involved while the beast is moving. Oddly enough, the smell of this secret is said to smell like popcorn.
Until they become stronger and more aware of their surroundings, young binturongs are incredibly vulnerable. At this time, they are able to spray liquid with an unpleasant odor (like a skunk) when they are really scared. This behavior was observed only in binturongs, who are no more than two months old, because when they get older, they can protect themselves in another way.
Binturong can turn its hind legs back so that their claws are well engaged when descending along a tree trunk.
Nutrition
Despite the fact that they belong to the group of carnivorous mammals, Binturong is a herbivorous animal. This means that it survives primarily on a diet consisting of fruits. But their diet also includes insects, various rodents and small birds, which they lurk among the branches like cats.
Binturongs are well developed and can eat food sitting on trees with their forepaws, which these animals need not only to raise and dig, but also to hold food or open fruit with their flexible fingers. Binturong mainly hunts for prey under cover of night. In the afternoon, thanks to its ability to swim and dive perfectly, it catches fish in ponds when cooled in the heat.
Reproduction and Life Cycles
They do not have a mating season, as such, it is believed that in the period from February to mid-spring, and then in July and October, they are more prone to breeding. After a pregnancy lasting 3 months, the female binturong descends from the trees to nest among the vegetation, which protects it from passing predators.
As a rule, 1-3 cubs are born. Like many other mammalian babies, small binturongs are born blind and cannot hear. They rely solely on their mother, who provides them with milk. Independent life begins by 2 months. They grow up to 1 year.
Binturongs in nature can live from 10 to 15 years, but are able to successfully reach an older age when kept in captivity, and die at 26 years old.
The dangers
Binturongs are relatively large and slow animals, but they are not easy prey for predators living in the jungle. Larger inhabitants, such as tigers and snakes, pose a threat to the binturongs.
Representatives of this species were most affected by habitat destruction. For the most part, this is evident in the southern parts of the range. In the northern zone, deforestation is not so intense, but there they suffer from poachers, so this animal loves a dense forest, where there are many shelters, both on trees and on the surface of the earth.
Benefits and relationships with people
Binturong is also exposed to the devastating loss of vast territories from its natural habitat. A growing population and forest clearing for agriculture are the main culprits for their decline, as the binturong needs a dense jungle to survive successfully.
Binturong is of great benefit to the forests and jungle where they live. Thanks to their feces, they help spread seeds from the fruits and vegetables that they feed on. They also help in the fight against pests, as they catch and eat rodents.
The animal Binturong is considered rare and exotic, so it is almost impossible to find in zoos in many countries.
Video: Binturong (Arctictis binturong)
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