ZooNooz Article - December 2005

Hanging around

Is that a bear high up in that tree? Maybe it's a type of cat with really long white whiskers? Actually, it's a bit like that Red Panda, only black. I have to admit, I really can't tell what it is. But hey - is someone selling popcorn around here? I'm sure I can smell freshly cooked popcorn! DARCY SHEDDEN writes on one of Taronga Zoo's more obscure animals.

Photographs Jeff Grant
Illustration Helen Berriman
 

Don't be dismayed if your first sighting of the Binturongs in the Wild Asia precinct is somewhat confusing - you certainly aren't alone in your bewilderment. These most unusual animals sport the long, shaggy, black coat of a bear, the slitted eyes and long whiskers of a cat, ears with shaggy tufts sticking up from behind them and a face that looks surprisingly like a sea lion.

They also have a thick, bushy tail, almost as long as the body, that can wrap around a branch like a monkey's. At full size, they are close to a metre and a half from their nose to the tip of the tail, but they are only half a metre tall - so they are possibly like no other animal you have seen before. And that wonderful 'popcorn' smell is actually produced by the Binturongs themselves.

Low-slung, shaggy-looking, tree-dwelling and carnivorous, Binturongs are often referred to as 'bearcats' but scientifically they are the largest of the group of carnivores called the viverrids, and close relatives of civets, genets and fossas. The cat family and the bears are much more distant cousins as are the meerkats and even hyenas. Taronga's two new Binturongs (Pepper, a large, 14-year-old female with lovely gold flecks through her coat and a smaller, six-year-old male called Emas) came to us recently from Singapore Zoo, with the expectation that they will eventually become a breeding pair.

Binturongs are one of the Zoo's more obscure animals (JG)

Binturongs are Old World animals, originating in the jungles of Nepal, but also found in the dense forests of many other Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. In their natural rainforest environment, they spend much of their lives in the treetops carefully climbing around foraging for food.

They are also nocturnal, sleeping for most of the day to avoid the tropical heat, so are rarely seen in the wild.

At Taronga, the 'binties' can most often be found in the highest branches of the fig tree in their exhibit, either curled tightly in a ball with their tail over the face blocking out the world, or sometimes flat-out with all four legs dangling and the massive tail wrapped securely around the branch behind them.

This wonderful, prehensile tail (and Binturongs are one of only two carnivores to have one - the other is the Kinkajou from South America) has a multitude of uses. Primarily, it helps them to stay secure when climbing in the trees by wrapping around branches, but it's also great for hanging, leaving both arms free to reach out for any elusive bits of food.

Another important use is to slow their rapid, head-first descent down the tree, by looping around branches as they go. Their very flat rear feet also help with this - they can turn almost completely inwards to help grip tightly on to the trunk of the tree, but during a fast descent, the non-retractable, hooked claws are almost useless.

Binturongs, being in the carnivore group, will eat meat; they are adept at catching birds, rodents and sometimes small fish. However, a greater proportion of their diet is actually fruit, leaves and tree shoots. In particular they have a love of bananas and also Strangler Figs. They are one of the few forest dwellers capable of digesting the extremely hard seeds inside this fruit and so are valuable dispersers of the seeds, not only for this tree but also for many other plants in the rainforest as well.

In the wild, Binturongs usually live alone or in family groups. Females are the dominant partner in the pairing and are usually twenty per cent larger and heavier than the males. Like their distant cousins the hyenas, Binturong females have very male-looking genitals, including a 'false penis', and both sexes mark their territory with scent.

This special aroma (the 'popcorn' smell mentioned earlier) is produced in a gland near the genitals, and is spread when the gland comes into contact with the surrounding foliage. (Interestingly, humans long ago recognised the enduring properties of this marking oil, civet, and used it as an important component of many perfumes. Fortunately we now have synthetic alternatives.) Females initiate mating and, after a 90-day pregnancy, give birth to a litter of up to four cubs.

The Mysterious Binturong (HB)

Both parents will look after the young, however once sexual maturity is achieved at about 14 months, the young must leave the group. Adults can breed twice a year for as many as 15 years, reaching old age at around 20.

Binturongs are the most vocal of all the vivverids and communicate with a wide range of sounds, ranging from high-pitched whines to howls, grunts, snorts, hisses and rasping growls. They also have good vision and hearing, and an acute sense of smell. Unfortunately, their natural abilities have not been enough to protect these endangered animals against the advance of man.

While deforestation is the principal cause of their reduced numbers in the wild, these placid animals are often purposely removed from the forest, not only for bush-meat but also for the aphrodisiac and pet trades. At Taronga, Pepper's gentle nature has already endeared her to her keepers, with Emas becoming more and more settled every day. Certainly they will both be very much at home up in their magnificent fig tree.

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