Binturong

Binturongs mostly eat fruit.

They love figs. They also eat bugs, birds and fish.

Binturongs are called carnivores because of their sharp teeth and claws, but they eat mostly fruit, especially figs. They also catch insects, birds, rodents and fish, and eat eggs, leaves and shoots.

Binturongs are very important to their forests. Animal Diversity Web says they are the only known animal that spreads the seeds of one kind of strangler fig: the seeds need to pass through a binturong's gut before they can sprout well.

Binturongs are classified in the Carnivora for their anatomy but are mainly frugivorous, taking figs such as the strangler fig Ficus altissima, plus insects, birds, fish, rodents, carrion, eggs, leaves and shoots (Animal Diversity Web; San Diego Zoo). They have been recorded swimming and diving for food.

Animal Diversity Web reports that binturongs are the only known disperser of Ficus altissima seeds, because their digestive enzymes soften the seed coat; this makes them important to the persistence of these forests. As predators of small animals, they may also influence prey populations.

Binturongs sleep in the day and wake at night.

They move slowly in the trees. Their smell tells other binturongs, "This is my place!"

Binturongs are mostly active at night. They move slowly through the trees looking for fruit, which is why people have sometimes mixed them up with sloths. They usually live alone, though a mother may stay with her young.

The binturong's famous popcorn smell comes from its urine, which contains the same chemical that gives popcorn its scent. The smell is a message: it tells other binturongs that this area is taken.

Binturongs are mainly nocturnal and mostly solitary, avoiding one another without being strictly territorial; groups are usually a mother with immature young (Animal Diversity Web). Females in estrus call to attract males.

The San Diego Zoo explains that binturong urine contains the same compound that gives buttered popcorn its smell. Scent marking advertises occupancy of an area to other binturongs and may deter predators; as large arboreal animals, binturongs are rarely threatened by other predators.

There are fewer binturongs than before.

Their forests are being cut down. Some people catch them to sell.

The binturong is listed as Vulnerable. The San Diego Zoo says it is not common anywhere. Its forests are being cut down, and it is caught for traditional medicines, for its fur, for the pet trade and for food.

Because binturongs spread seeds, losing them could harm the forests they live in. Protecting forests and stopping illegal hunting and trade are the best ways to help.

The IUCN assessed Arctictis binturong as Vulnerable in 2016. The San Diego Zoo notes it is uncommon everywhere, with higher risk in some regions, and lists habitat destruction, poaching for traditional Asian medicines, the fur and pet trades and hunting for food as threats.

Because binturongs disperse the seeds of figs that need passage through their gut, declines could ripple through forest ecosystems. Conservation depends on protecting large forest areas and controlling hunting and trade.