The binturong is one of those animals that feels made up until you actually see one.
It looks a bit like a bear, moves a bit like a cat, and smells uncannily like warm popcorn. Most people in the UK have never heard of it, but it’s one of the most unusual mammals in Southeast Asia. Everything about it feels slightly unexpected, from the way it climbs to the way it communicates.
What makes the binturong even more fascinating is how little attention it gets despite its quirks. It plays an important role in its ecosystem, has features you won’t find in many other mammals, and carries a scent that leaves everyone baffled the first time they learn about it. Here’s what makes this odd, charming creature worth knowing.
They genuinely smell like fresh buttered popcorn.
This isn’t an exaggeration or a joke. Binturongs actually produce a scent that smells exactly like popcorn from the cinema. The smell comes from a chemical compound in their urine and scent glands. When they mark their territory, which they do constantly, they leave behind that distinctive popcorn aroma.
The chemical responsible is called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which is the same compound that gives cooked popcorn its smell. Scientists discovered this completely by accident when studying the animals. It’s one of the strangest examples of how nature can create familiar scents in completely unexpected places.
Despite the nickname “bearcat,” they’re neither bears nor cats.
People call them bearcats because they look like a weird combination of both animals. They’ve got a cat-like face with whiskers and a bear-like body that’s stocky and powerful. But they’re not related to either species at all.
Binturongs are actually part of the viverrid family, which makes them cousins to civets and genets. They’re more closely related to mongooses than to bears or cats. The nickname stuck because people needed some way to describe what they look like, even though it’s completely inaccurate.
They’ve got prehensile tails like monkeys.
Binturongs are one of only two carnivores in the world with a fully prehensile tail. That means they can grip branches with it like an extra hand. The tail works like a fifth limb, wrapping around branches to help them balance and climb.
They use this tail constantly while moving through trees, essentially using it as a safety rope. It’s strong enough to support their entire body weight if needed. This adaptation makes them incredibly skilled climbers despite their heavy, awkward-looking bodies.
They move incredibly slowly and deliberately through trees.
Watching a binturong climb is like watching something in slow motion. They’re cautious, methodical climbers who take their time moving from branch to branch. There’s nothing graceful or agile about their movement, they just lumber along carefully testing each step.
Their slowness isn’t because they’re clumsy, but because they’re heavy and careful. They can weigh up to 20 kilograms, which is massive for a tree-dwelling animal. Moving slowly reduces the risk of branches breaking under their weight and sending them crashing down.
They’re one of the few carnivores that eat mostly fruit.
Despite being classified as carnivores, binturongs actually eat fruit for most of their diet. Figs are their absolute favourite, and they’ll travel long distances to find trees that are fruiting. They do eat small animals, eggs, and insects occasionally, but they’re not effective hunters.
Their fruit-eating habit makes them really important for the forests they live in. They eat fruit whole and spread seeds through their droppings across huge areas. Without binturongs, certain tree species would struggle to reproduce and spread throughout the forest.
They make some genuinely weird noises.
Binturongs don’t roar or growl like you’d expect from something that looks vaguely bear-like. Instead, they make strange chuckling sounds, low grunts, and high-pitched wails. When they’re content, they make noises that sound a bit like purring mixed with whimpering.
Their vocalisations sound more like something a small primate would make than a carnivore. The chuckling sound in particular is really distinctive and quite eerie to hear in the wild. These strange noises help them communicate with each other across the dense forest canopy.
Females are significantly bigger and more dominant than males.
In binturong society, females rule absolutely. Female binturongs are about 20% heavier than males and completely dominate them socially. Males defer to females in every situation, and females get first access to food and the best sleeping spots.
Female dominance is unusual among mammals, especially carnivores. The size difference and social hierarchy mean that females are basically in charge of everything. Males are essentially just tolerated when females decide it’s breeding time; otherwise, they keep their distance.
They’re disappearing rapidly from Southeast Asian forests.
Binturongs are classified as vulnerable to extinction and their numbers are dropping fast. Deforestation across Southeast Asia has destroyed huge portions of their habitat. They need continuous forest canopy to survive, and logging operations fragment that into isolated patches.
They’re also hunted for traditional medicine and the illegal pet trade. Some cultures believe their body parts have medicinal properties, which isn’t true but still drives hunting. Young binturongs are sometimes captured and sold as exotic pets, which usually ends badly for the animals.
They can rotate their ankles backwards to climb down trees headfirst.
Binturongs have incredibly flexible ankle joints that can rotate 180 degrees. This allows them to climb down tree trunks headfirst like squirrels do. Most animals their size have to back down trees awkwardly or jump, but binturongs just rotate their back feet and walk down facing forward.
Their ankle flexibility combined with their strong claws makes them surprisingly capable climbers. They might be slow and careful, but they can navigate vertical surfaces that would be impossible for other animals their size. It’s one of their most useful adaptations for life in the canopy.
Baby binturongs stay with their mothers for an unusually long time.
Young binturongs don’t become independent quickly. They stay with their mothers for up to two years, learning where to find food and how to navigate the forest canopy. This extended childhood is rare for carnivores and shows how complex their forest environment is.
During this time, mothers teach their young which trees have fruit, safe climbing routes, and how to use their tails properly. The long learning period suggests that being a successful binturong requires a lot of knowledge that can’t just be instinctive. They need time to learn the skills for survival.