"What is that thing?" "Says here it's a bearcat." "Well which is it, a bear or a cat?." "I don't know, it's just weird." Short conversations such as this seem to pop up every few minutes around the Binturong (Arctictis binturong) enclosure at the Bronx Zoo's "Jungle World" exhibit, many people not knowing what to make of the hairy black creature sleeping on its platform. Even the popular name "bearcat" is confusing as the Binturong in neither bear (Family Ursidae) nor cat (Family), instead belonging to the Family Viverridae, which includes civets and genets. Binturongs are also nocturnal, which is why I thought myself fortunate to have happened across one while it was briefly awake, although during most of my visits to the zoo it has been asleep and most visitors pass it by. Despite its somewhat sluggish appearance, though, Binturongs are adept at moving from free to tree, using their prehensile tail and claws to help them get around in the forest canopy.
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Family Viverridae, which includes civets and genets
...and the somewhat more widely known mongooses & meerkats.
Cool animal!
Sven,
the Herpestidae are generally considered an independent family nowadays, as are the malagasy Eupleridae (Fossa and friends). The African Palm Civet *Nandinia* has its own, one-species family (Nandiniidae) too. The Asiatic Linsang *Prionodon* - but not the african one, wich seems to be a bona fide viverrid - is closer to Felidae, and should be either included in this family or given its own family Prionodontidae.
Yes, the traditional Viverridae is apparently paraphyletic. johannes has explained the changes.
Binturong are so graceful and nimble for a creature of such bulk.
huh. You learn something new ever' day.
For reasons beyond my comprehension, this animal is the mascot for the University of Cincinnati. Go arboreal fat meerkat-like things! Woo!
Awesome photo. I've been in love with this animal and wondering when it will get some attention ever since I first read about it as a child.
> For reasons beyond my comprehension, this animal
> is the mascot for the University of Cincinnati.
> Go arboreal fat meerkat-like things! Woo!
One wonders why people were naming sportscars (I mean the real Stutz Bearcat, not the parody driven by Liberace) and fighter planes after this superficialy sloth-like animal. This said, like Laelaps and several commentors have already remarked, the Binturong is far more maneuvrable and nimble than it looks, and can be fierce when its cornered.