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| Palawan Binturong Arctictis binturong ssp. whitei (Allen, 1910) |
| Common Names: Binturong
Habitat/Distribution: Subspecies is endemic to Palawan, Philippines. They are found in the southeastern parts of Asia, from far eastern India through southwestern China, Thailand, Laos, Burma, Viet Nam, Malaysia, and parts of Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo). Habitat / Behavior: They have one of the cutest faces in the animal kingdom, shaped like a sea lion's. They can hang by their tails like some monkeys. They walk flat-footed like a bear, not on tiptoe like dogs and cats. They can crawl around upside down in trees like a sloth, and come down headfirst like a squirrel, even though they weigh about 40 lbs. They live in the tropics, but their coat looks as long and thick as a grizzly's. They can balance on their hind legs and tail like a kangaroo. They have the typical carnivore teeth, but they love fruit above anything else. Sound pretty mixed-up? It all makes sense, if you're a binturong. A binnie is very much an individual in its own right, not just a weird mixture, and its odd characteristics actually make it very well adapted to its habitat in the trees. Its long fur serves more as a rain repellent than for warmth. It will eat meat with those teeth if it can catch some, but fruit is a lot easier for a tree animal.
funny little ear tufts that are twice as long as his ears, the almost
human-looking rear foot soles, and the huge black and white whiskers that
can grow to 8 inches. But nothing compares to that tail. It's about as thick
as a softball at the base, tapering off to a narrow tip three feet later,
covered with long black hair. And alone among Old World carnivores, it's
a fully prehensile tail -- they can grip with it! They can wrap it around
a tree branch and hang upside down, supported just by the tail, if they want
to (though they don't much like to -- they're pretty heavy). But it's constantly
in use. They'll hardly take a step in a tree without switching it around
behind them blindly searching for something to grab it on to. It acts as
a brake when climbing down through branches, clinging onto everything the
hind feet just stepped off from. When just resting on a limb, they may very
well be flopped out flat on their belly with all 4 legs dangling, but you
can bet that tail will be wrapped clear around the limb with a firm grip.
And if a binnie is on your shoulder, get ready for a squeeze around your
neck that can nearly turn your face blue! Well, maybe not that bad, but they
can certainly hang on tight, and they will. It's an amazing adaptation for
a carnivore -- Conservation Efforts/Measures: Photograph Information: Courtesy of Andy and Melissa Foshee
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