This elusive subspecies of binturong is native to the Philippine island of Palawan. These large, nocturnal mammals have distinctive cat-like facial features and a prehensile tail, with fur and feet like a bear, which has adopted them the nickname ‘bearcat’.
They’re master climbers using their long prehensile tails to grip branches and help them climb – they’re one of only two carnivores in the world that use their tail for climbing. Their bear-like back legs rotate backwards to give them better grip and enable them to climb down trees head-first. They are primarily arboreal (live in trees), but have to descend to the ground to be able to move from one tree to another.
Binturongs are very noisy communicators known to chuckle, growl, wail, grunt, hiss and purr! They live in adult pairs with their offspring of usually one to three cubs.
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