Binturong
The binturong (Arctictis binturong) (/bɪnˈtjʊərɒŋ,ˈbɪntjʊrɒŋ/ , bin-TURE-ong, BIN-ture-ong), also known as the bearcat, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is uncommon in much of its range, and has been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining population trend that is estimated at more than 30% since the mid 1980s.[2] The binturong is the only living species in the genus Arctictis.
Viverra binturong was the scientific name used by Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1822 for a binturong collected in Malacca.[3] The scientific name of the genus Arctictis was coined by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1824.[4] Arctictis is a monotypic taxon; its morphology is similar to that of members of the genera Paradoxurus and Paguma.[5]
The name Arctictis means 'bear-weasel', from Greek arkt- 'bear' + iktis 'weasel'.[6] In Riau, Indonesia it is called 'benturong' and 'tenturun'.[7]
The binturong is long and heavy, with short, stout legs. It has a thick coat of coarse black hair. The bushy and prehensile tail is thick at the root, gradually tapering, and curls inwards at the tip. The muzzle is short and pointed, somewhat turned up at the nose, and is covered with bristly hairs, brown at the points, which lengthen as they diverge, and form a peculiar radiated circle round the face. The eyes are large, black and prominent. The ears are short, rounded, edged with white, and terminated by tufts of black hair. There are six short rounded incisors in each jaw, two canines, which are long and sharp, and six molars on each side. The hair on the legs is short and of a yellowish tinge. The feet are five-toed, with large strong claws; the soles are bare, and applied to the ground throughout the whole of their length; the hind ones are longer than the fore ones.[3]
In general build the binturong is essentially like Paradoxurus and Paguma, but more massive in the length of the tail, legs and feet, in the structure of the scent glands and larger size of the rhinarium, which is more convex with a median groove being much narrower above the philtrum. The contour hairs of the coat are much longer and coarser, and the long hairs clothing the whole of the back of the ears project beyond the tip as a definite tuft. The anterior bursa flap of the ears is more widely and less deeply emarginate. The tail is more muscular, especially at the base, and in colour generally like the body, but commonly paler at the base beneath. The body hairs are frequently partly whitish or buff, giving a speckled appearance to the pelage, sometimes so pale that the whole body is mostly straw-coloured or grey, the young being often at all events paler than the adults, but the head is always closely speckled with grey or buff. The long mystacial vibrissae are conspicuously white, and there is a white rim on the summit of the otherwise black ear. The glandular area is whitish.[5]
The tail is nearly as long as the head and body, which ranges from 71 to 84 cm (28 to 33 in); the tail is 66 to 69 cm (26 to 27 in) long.[8] Some captive binturongs measured from 76 cm (2 ft 6 in) to 91 cm (3 ft) in head and body with a tail of 71 cm (2 ft 4 in).[9] Mean weight of captive adult females is 21.9 kg (48 lb) with a range from 11 to 32 kg (24 to 71 lb). Captive animals often weigh more than wild counterparts.[10] 12 captive female binturongs were found to weigh a mean of 24.4 kg (54 lb) while 22 males weighed a mean of 19.3 kg (43 lb).[11] The estimated mean weight of wild females per one study was 10.5 kg (23 lb).[10] However, seven wild male binturongs in Thailand were found to weigh a mean of 13.3 kg (29 lb), while one female was of similar weight at 13.5 kg (30 lb).[12] One estimate of the mean body mass of wild binturongs was 15 kg (33 lb).[13] The binturong appears to be the largest species of the viverrid family, rivaled only by the African civet, which weighs a mean of about 11.3 kg (25 lb).[14][15][16]
