The weather may be chilly, but Binturong training at Adelaide Zoo is hotting up!
A nocturnal species, Jakarta, can often be found snoozing under his heat lamp. But visitors can now see the six-year-old male taking part in special training sessions during the day with his keepers.
Keeper, Jemma Cleere, said the team practice target training fuelled by snacks of banana and other tasty fruits.
“With Jak being a nocturnal animal, it always takes him a little bit of time to get up and going, but we offer him some of his favourites like grapes and bananas to entice him to get up and into a good training session,” she said.
“The target training helps us to see how Jakarta is moving, learn more about his behaviour and helps him build his strength in his back legs and tail.
“The goal for Jakarta is for him to target his nose onto the end of a ball and when he does this he gets a cue and a little reward.
“Binturongs have a strong, prehensile tail, which is almost as long as his body! Jakarta uses his tail almost like another limb to balance and grip branches. It’s very impressive when he hangs upside down supporting his full body weight!”
With the face of a cat and the body of a bear, this incredible species is also known as a ‘bearcat’ and belongs to a family of small carnivores that include Civets and Mongoose. They have large white whiskers, long ear tufts and shaggy black-grey fur.
Binturongs also have amazing smell, wafting the scent of buttery popcorn! While catching a whiff might seem great to humans, to other binturongs it signals the surrounding area is occupied territory and alerts them of each other’s whereabouts during breeding season.
Native to South-East Asia, Binturongs are vulnerable to extinction due to habitat destruction, poaching for traditional medicines and the fur trade. Sadly, it’s estimated the population has declined by 30 per cent over the past 30 years.
You can support Binturongs by visiting Adelaide Zoo to learn more about species and their conservation in the wild.
For more information, please visit adelaidezoo.com.au.
