The Official Houston Zoo Blog

“What is THAT??”   That’s a question we hear each time we take our binturong, Hannah, out for a public appearance. And it’s the reason behind why she’s here at the zoo.  Introducing our guests to species they’ve never encountered before is what we do best at Natural Encounters.  Binturongs are hard to describe, difficult to relate to other species and are elusive in the wilds of southeast Asia where they are from. Even taxonomists, who are  paid to do this sort of thing, have a hard time classifying them. Currently they are classified in a group of small carnivores called civets that includes things like genets (which is another little known animal, once again, hard to describe).

Even though binturongs are classified with carnivores, they are actually omnivores. They like fruit very much and act as seed dispersers in their rain forest homes.  As omnivores, they also eat small mammals like mice and other rodent pests, thereby helping keep those populations under control.

Since she lives in the rain forest you might expect to see that she has adaptations for life in the trees. When you look at Hannah you’ll see that she has claws that are good for climbing, and also her most distinctive feature, that long luxurious tail.  Her tail is prehensile which means she can use it to hang onto things, namely tree branches.  Even when they are sleeping, which is mainly during the day for these nocturnal creatures, they will hang onto the branches with their tail so they won’t fall out of the tree.

True to her binturong nature, Hannah is an elusive individual. She lives in an area of Natural Encounters that is not on exhibit.  She has indoor areas and a large outdoor yard to explore when the weather is nice.  She has  recently started making appearances around the zoo for our guests to see her.  Hannah is still learning about large crowds and things like strollers, so there is no set time for her appearances.  You never know when you might be lucky enough to see Hannah exploring the zoo.  Here she is at one of her recent outings, checking out the Dinosaurs that are visiting for the summer.