Super-cute family of endangered Binturong bearcats sunbathe at Wild Discovery zoo at Ribby Hall
Meet the adorable family of ultra-rare bearcats living at a small Lancashire zoo, in this super-cute video.
Heart-warming video shows a family of Binturong sunbathing in the trees and nibbling on fruit in their zoo enclosure.
Sunbathing bearcats
In the cute clip above watch as the ultra-rare mammals - also known as bearcats - swing on the branches and enjoy the sunshine at Wild Discovery zoo at Ribby Hall.
The breeding pair, along with one of their young binlets, can also be seen tucking in to some pieces of apple.
Endangered species
Zoo Director, Neil Trickett explains: “They usually sit at the top of the trees when the sun’s out. They have a prehensile tail, and you’ll often see them hanging onto the branches with their tail throughout the day.”
The endangered specie is closely related to civets, and contrary to their name, they are neither a cat or a bear. They are native to South and South East Asia, and have been assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a declining population.
Binturong coffee ‘delicacy’
Mr Trickett goes on to explain, in the video, that these adorable creatures are used in the production of an expensive type of coffee, made from beans that have been ingested and then excreted by these mammals.
He adds: “[they] eat coffee berries and they can’t digest it, so they poo out the coffee bean. Apparently this is a delicacy. These animals are put in cages, force fed coffee berries and forced to poo out the beans [by some organisations]”.
Meet the binturong
The binturong at Wild Discovery are part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) to help preserve this species in captivity, as well as supporting in-situ conservation.
Visit the Binturongs and learn more about them at Wild Discovery, a small interactive zoo in Ribby Hall Village.