Kid Territory:Critters: Binturong

Bandar rests in his cave at the Children's Zoo.

Another binturong is out on a limb at the San Diego Zoo.

Bandar likes to visit the curator's office during his morning walks.

Bandar is always a popular visitor at school assemblies.


Zoo name: Bandar
Species: Malayan binturong
Location: San Diego Zoo's Children's Zoo

His story

Here's what people always ask the first time they see Bandar:

Zoo visitor: "What's that animal?"
Zoo educator: "It's a binturong."
Zoo visitor: "It's a what?"
Zoo educator: "It's a binturong."
Zoo visitor: "What is it?"

Well, you can't blame them; he's an unusual animal with an unusual name!

Bandar is built low to the ground. He's 6 feet (1.8 meters) long (half body, half tail), weighs about 50 pounds (23 kilograms), and has shaggy black fur tipped with gray. And what a face: small and intense eyes, with dime-sized ears topped by long, furry fringes! Thick, wild whiskers frame a small muzzle, ending in a shiny black nose. Binturongs, also called bear cats, are native to Southeast Asian rain forests. They're neither bears nor cats, but are related to civets and mongooses. They're one of two carnivores with a prehensile tail (the other is a kinkajou). One amazing feature of the binturong is a popcorn-like aroma, which comes from a scent gland near its tail.

Becoming an ambassador

Bandar was hand-raised at another zoo. He was a baby of three months when he arrived here at the San Diego Zoo, so his crew of handlers had the chance to teach him to demonstrate natural behaviors for his job as an animal ambassador. He quickly learned to walk on a leash, enter a traveling crate, and be comfortable in crowd situations like school assembly programs.

During Zoo assembly programs, Bandar shows off all his adaptations as a nocturnal animal. We set up chairs, tables, and piano benches, and the students watch him climb the furniture using his strong front arms, the bare soles of his feet, and his huge tail. Though classified as carnivores, binturongs eat an omnivorous diet of mostly fruit, and we reward Bandar for his activity with his favorite food: grapes!

Daily walks

Bandar goes for a daily walk, and even though he's an adult, he still has playful moments. He bounces and pounces and snorts when he's excited. He has a good sense of smell and he's curious, always investigating everything. He'll walk right into offices and classrooms in session and we have to watch that he doesn't shred important papers or projects! It's fun when he goes to schools and on walks in the Zoo, because hardly anyone knows what he is, and it's cool to introduce him.

So if you see Bandar and you can't remember what he is, feel free to ask what everyone does the first time–"Now, what is that animal again?"

Where you can see him

Bandar lives in the Children's Zoo, on the Jungle Trail behind the Clark Theater. He'll most likely be snoozing, curled up in his den. But he readily wakes up to go to school programs and Zoo presentations, because that's when he gets the fruit portion of his diet, and he has a sweet tooth! You may also see binturongs in the Zoo's Bear Canyon, or across from the entrance of the Giant Panda Research Station. Two other places to look for binturongs are near the koala exhibit and often in the Wild Ones show in Hunte Amphitheater.

More

Animal Bytes: Binturong, Kinkajou, Rain Forest, Asia
Education: Assembly Programs
San Diego Zoo: Children's Zoo, Sun Bear Forest
Animal Shows