The wonderful world of the binturong, the animal that smells like popcorn

he com. binturong (Arctic Binturong), also known as Black bear catIt is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the family YogurtsThey are the same animals as small-bodied animals, most of which have arboreal habits, such as civets and ginseng cats, and have a great resemblance to domestic cats.

The curious black bear cat can weigh up to 20 kilograms and measure more than a meter in length. Of arboreal habits, it is active during the day and at night. Their diet is mainly based on small mammals, birds, fish, worms, as well as fruits.

They are native to South and Southeast Asia and are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is considered a vulnerable species because its numbers have declined by more than 30% since the mid-1980s, mainly due to urbanization and housing.

It is also called shawl It was described in 1822 by British statesman Thomas Stamford Raffles, widely known as the founder of Singapore.

It mainly lives in countries like China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, etc.

The binturong is usually long and heavy, covered in a thick layer of coarse black hair, and its four legs are short and very strong. Its prehensile tail narrows as it approaches the tip, which ends in a hook, and is approximately as long as the head or body, ranging from 66 to 69 cm in length.

One of the greatest curiosities of the binturong is that both females and males have musk scent glands that give off an odor very similar to that of musk. popcorn.

It is omnivorous and feeds on small mammals, birds, fish, as well as insects and fruits, and for this reason it is considered an important agent for dispersing seeds, specifically the seeds of the strangler fig, thanks to its amazing ability to remove the outer covering of the fig. Seeds.

They reach reproductive maturity at 27 months and their gestation period lasts between 84 and 99 days; They give birth to one to six offspring, usually weighing about 280 grams.

Thanks to the behavior of captive specimens in london zoo, They are known to have arboreal habits, and when they are resting, they like to curl up and hide their heads under their tail. They reach treetops slowly and easily thanks to the dexterity provided by their tail.

Although their fertility period usually lasts up to 15 years, the average life expectancy of a binturong is 25 years.

The binturong appears on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as an animal in danger due to several factors, including habitat occupation and destruction as a result of urbanization and housing, as well as deforestation.

IUCN authorities point out that binturong is hunted for its meat, which is believed to have therapeutic effects in traditional medicine.

Although their numbers have also declined thanks to the illegal seizure of binturongs in the Philippines, where they are poached to be sold as pets and for human consumption.

The opposite is true in Vietnam, where they are hunted for their meat and sold as food. In this country and in China there is a great demand for civet and binturong.

In India, it enjoys the highest level of protection thanks to a law implemented in 1972, while in Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Malaysia it is considered a priority species that must be protected.