Binturong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Binturong |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Subfamily: |
Paradoxurinae
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| Genus: |
Arctictis
Temminck, 1824
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| Species: |
A. binturong
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| Binomial name | |
| Arctictis binturong (Raffles, 1821)
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A binturong (Arctictis binturong) is a large, rare mammal that lives in trees in the dense forests of southeast Asia. The binturong is also often called a bearcat because it looks like both a bear and a cat.
Contents
Description
Binturongs have thick, black fur, a long, muscular tail, and long, stiff, white whiskers. They use their prehensile tail almost like another hand; young binturongs can even hang by their tail. Binturongs grow to be up to about 5 feet (1.5 m) long. Like other civets, the binturongs use scent marks to communicate with other binturongs. In captivity, binturongs live for about 30 years.
Diet
Binturongs eat fruit and small animals that they find using their sense of smell to find food. They hunt for food at night - they are nocturnal.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Skull and dentition of the binturong, as illustrated in Paul Gervais' Histoire naturelle des mammifères
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Binturong skeleton on display in the Museum of Osteology
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Binturong photographed by a camera trap at a feeding platform on a fruiting Ficus
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Young binturong kept as a pet by Orang Asli at Taman Negara, Malaysia
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Captive binturong at the Cincinnati Zoo
_camera_trapped_at_a_feeding_platform_on_a_fruiting_Ficus_at_Pakke_tiger_reserve.JPG)
See also
In Spanish: Manturón para niños
