Test your binturong knowledge with this quiz! Will you be bintu-right or bintu-wrong?
Results
Good try! Brush up on your Bintruong knowledge by tuning into the Aquarium’s social media on Saturday, May 9, 2020 for World Binturong Day!
#1. True or False: Binturongs are related to monkeys.
False! Despite living in trees, Binturongs are more closely related to a mongoose than a monkey.
#2. True or False: Binturongs are also called Bear cats.
True! Even though they’re called Bear cats, Binturongs are related to Civets and Genets.
#3. True or False: Binturongs smell like buttered popcorn.
True! Binturongs have a chemical in their urine that smells similar to buttered popcorn.
#4. True or False: Binturongs spend most of their time on the ground.
False! Binturongs have to walk on the ground sometimes to get to a new tree, but they are arboreal creatures and spend most of their time among the treetops.
#5. True or False: A Binturong’s favorite snack is leaves.
False! Binturongs are mostly frugivores, snacking on the fruits that grow in the trees.
#6. True or False: Binturongs can hang from their tails.
False! Binturongs have prehensile tails, meaning that they can bend the end to loosely wrap around things, but it is not strong enough to hang from. They do use their tails to provide extra balance while they climb.
#7. True or False: Binturongs poop is important for forest growth.
True! Binturongs love to eat fruit, which contains seeds. Once they eat the fruit, the seeds pass through their poop and plant themselves on the forest floor. Binturongs are an important disperser of fig seeds.
#8. True or False: Because of habitat loss, Binturongs are considered a vulnerable species.
True! Habitat loss has decreased the Binturong species by 30 percent.
