📸 PhotoPhoto: Tassilo Rau · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Binturong
Arctictis binturong (Binturong · ビントロング)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Because of the scent glands it uses to mark trees, its body is known to smell like corn chips or popcorn.
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 20 kg is equal to one 20 kg bag of rice (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The binturong is a carnivoran that lives mainly in the canopies of tall tropical forests in Southeast Asia.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It has a body length of 61–96 cm, a tail as long as 56–89 cm, and a weight of 9–20 kg, with females about 20% larger than males. It uses its prehensile tail like a fifth limb when climbing trees.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It favors fruits such as figs above all, but also eats insects, birds, fish, rodents, and carrion. Gestation lasts about 91 days, and females give birth to an average litter of about 2 young.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List VU (2016) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41690/45217088
- • IUCN Red List category VU — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1006097
- • iucnredlist.org — 45217088
- • wikidata.org — Q213141
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Binturong in Overloon.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Arctictis binturong
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Gabriela Palomo-Munoz · CC BY 4.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.