Binturong Facts: size, diet, smell and Kopi Luwak cruelty

Despite their ecological significance, the binturongs are now classed as Vulnerable. Populations have plummeted due to habitat destruction, particularly for palm oil deforestation; along with illegal hunting, exploitation for the coffee market and the illegal bushmeat and pet trade. Protecting the majestic binturong requires urgent action to safeguard their rainforest home. Fight for them every time you use your wallet! #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife

Binturong Arctictis binturong

Extant: Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia (Kalimantan, Jawa, Sumatera); Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Malaysia (Sarawak, Sabah, Peninsular Malaysia); Myanmar; Nepal; Philippines; Thailand; Vietnam

Presence Uncertain: Brunei Darussalam

Status: Vulnerable

Appearance and behaviour

The bearcat’s expressive eyes, tufted ears and long whiskers enhance their unique appearances. Meanwhile their prehensile tail acts as a fifth limb, allowing them to deftly navigate treetops.

Although the binturong is known colloquially as the bearcat, the species isn’t related to cats or bears. They are small omnivores belonging to the family Viverridae and they are related to palm civets.

Understanding the unusual binturong smell

The scent glands of the Binturong secrete a musk which some have likened to the aroma of cheesy crisps or buttered popcorn. This is due to a scent in their urine of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, a compound which they use to mark territory and signal their presence to other binturongs.

The binturong diet is varied

Another fact about Binturongs is their prehensile tail which they use tree-climbing. They move slowly and deliberately but are capable climbers. Their diet consists mainly of fruit, particularly figs, but they also consume small mammals, birds, and insects, showcasing their omnivorous tendencies (Mongabay, 2016).

Binturong size: stocky and slow

The species is heavy and stocky and can weigh up to 20 kilos. While more agile and smaller arboreal animal species can leap between trees, due to the Binturong’s heavy frame, they must descend to the ground to go from one tree to another. Tragically this makes them all too easy for hunters to capture with sharp snares.

Binturong threats

Habitat loss has been the predominant driver of decline of the Binturong’s southern (Sundaic) portion of the range, where a significant proportion of lowland habitats have been converted to other land-uses that do not support the species e.g. oil palm plantations.

IUCN red list

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

The binturong Arctictis binturong faces multiple overlapping threats, including habitat destruction for palm oil and timber, hunting, illegal trade, and exploitation for commercial products. These threats, exacerbated by weak enforcement of conservation laws, are causing dramatic population declines across its range.

The pet trade and wildlife trade

Tragically, the binturong is heavily exploited across their range in Asia for their meat, skin, use in civet coffee production, and the pet trade. Recent research highlights alarming statistics on the trade of binturongs, revealing the following:

• Online trade: A study identified 594 advertisements offering over 720 live binturongs during the study period, with the majority (97.6%) appearing on Facebook (Springer, 2024). The trade primarily caters to the pet market, with most animals likely sourced illegally from the wild.
• Seizures: Data from wildlife seizures revealed 103 live binturongs confiscated, further underscoring the prevalence of illegal hunting for this species despite existing wildlife protection laws (Springer, 2024).
• Regulatory challenges: Traders and buyers openly operate without fear of detection, highlighting weak enforcement and legislative gaps. Addressing these gaps, enhancing law enforcement, and prosecuting offenders are critical to halting the illegal trade of binturongs.
• Online platforms: The role of platforms like Facebook in facilitating illegal wildlife trade demands immediate attention. Establishing stringent regulations and accountability for online wildlife traders is vital to curbing this issue.

Binturongs and the threat of palm oil deforestation

Palm oil plantations have destroyed vast tracts of rainforest in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, leading to habitat fragmentation and population isolation. Lowland rainforests, where binturongs thrive, are particularly vulnerable to clearance (IUCN, 2016).

There are no records of Binturongs living monoculture plantations such as palm oil or rubber. Habitat loss and degradation are major threats to the Binturong (Schreiber et al. 1989) as is fragmentation, particularly in those parts of the range where hunting is heavy.

Climate change

A study by Abedin et al. (2025) warns that climate change could drastically reduce suitable habitats for the binturong. Currently, 26% of its habitat is suitable for survival, but projections show a 90% decline in suitability in the near future.

Current habitat patches are already highly fragmented, and future changes will exacerbate this isolation, leaving isolated populations even more vulnerable to extinction. The study highlights the urgent need for transboundary wildlife corridors across South and Southeast Asia to connect fragmented populations (Abedin et al., 2025).

Binturong snaring and hunting

Recent camera-trap surveys reveal that binturongs frequently descend to the ground, making them vulnerable to snares and traps. The increased use of snares has a devastating impact on ground-foraging species like the binturong, who are often caught unintentionally (Naniwadekar et al., 2013).

Population isolation

Historically considered relatively common, binturongs are now rare across most of their range. Camera-trap surveys indicate severe declines in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam due to habitat loss and hunting pressures (Willcox et al., 2014). The species is approaching national extinction in China due to rampant deforestation and opportunistic logging.

Cruel exploitation for their bodies

Binturongs are exploited commercially for a variety of products:

Skin Trade: Their pelts are frequently found in markets in Laos and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Meat and Traditional Medicine: The species is hunted for food in countries like Laos and Vietnam, where its meat is considered a delicacy. Civet meat, including binturongs, is in high demand across China and Vietnam and the Philippines. In Northeast India, binturong meat is consumed in states like Nagaland and Assam as part of subsistence hunting practices.

Civet Coffee Exploitation: In Indonesia, binturongs and common palm civets are captured and kept in captivity to produce ‘kopi luwak’ or civet coffee, which is a popular but ethically repugnant practice and product involving extreme animal cruelty.

Take Action!

Serious threats like palm oil deforestation, illegal trade for Kopi Luwak and hunting makes immediate conservation action essential to protect the binturong. Advocating for indigenous-led conservation and stricter enforcement of wildlife laws is crucial to secure their futures. To help you can support The Civet Project. Also you can use your wallet as a weapon and support #BoycottPalmOil and #Boycott4Wildlife.

Civet and binturong diet

Binturongs are omnivores with a diet heavily reliant on figs (Ficus spp.). They also consume other fruits, leaves, eggs, small mammals, and carrion. Their role as seed dispersers is crucial for maintaining rainforest biodiversity, as they propagate seeds over large distances, ensuring the survival of many tree species (Britannica, 2024).

Mating and reproduction

Binturongs exhibit delayed implantation, allowing females to time births with optimal environmental conditions. After a gestation period of approximately 92 days, females give birth to 1–3 cubs. Juveniles are dependent on their mothers for several months, during which they develop climbing and foraging skills (Mongabay, 2016).

Geographic Range

Binturongs inhabit tropical rainforests across Southeast Asia, including:

• India: Northeastern states such as Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Indonesia: Lowland forests in Sumatra and Borneo.
• Malaysia: Forest reserves in Peninsular Malaysia.
• Philippines: Palawan Island.
• Vietnam and Laos: Annamite Mountains and other forested regions.

FAQs

Why do Binturongs smell like buttered popcorn?

Binturongs are unique mammals who smell like buttered popcorn or cheesy crisps because of a chemical compound in their urine.

How do binturongs help the environment?

Binturongs are keystone species in their ecosystems. By consuming and dispersing the seeds of many fruiting trees, particularly figs, they help regenerate rainforests and maintain biodiversity.

How many binturongs are left in the world?

Exact population numbers are unknown, but surveys suggest densities as low as 10 individuals per 100 square kilometres in some regions, indicating a sharp population decline.

What is Kopi Luwak coffee?

Often marketed as either Kopi Luwak, Civet Coffee or Weasel coffee, this is coffee that has been partially digested by civets, most often palm civets but also binturongs. Excreted or pooped out coffee beans are the so-called wonder product that is marketed to ignorant tourists in South East Asia.

The cruel Kopi Luwak industry promotes the unique flavours of the civet’s faeces. Claiming that the specialised digestive enzymes alter the structural and chemical characteristics of the coffee. Cruel owners of these enterprises extract the coffee beans from the Binturong faeces then clean dry and sell these as coffee beans.

How is Kopi Luwak coffee cruel to Binturongs?

In order to produce Civet Coffee also known as Kopi Luwak coffee, civets including Binturongs are captured using cruel snares that maim them and leave them with extremely painful injuries. They never receive care for their injuries and many die in transit.

Once captured, binturongs and other civets are held in stacks of tiny and unsuitable cages, made from wire or mesh flooring, so that the civets faeces can drop through to a collection tray below.

Living in these tiny boxes for their entire lives is completely different from their natural home in the forest with lush forest canopies to explore and rest in. Even standing up in these tiny cages causes painful abrasions. Binturongs lack bedding, privacy, and nutrition. As they live in such horrific conditions this causes them to pace and self-mutilate.

Most binturongs will never get medical attention and die young as a result of being force fed coffee cherries and being poisoned from the unnatural diet of coffe beans. They die slowly and painfully.

Why do tourists drive the cruel Kopi Luwak industry?

A complete lack of regulation and laws to protect civets combined with a corrupt and greedy industry drives Civet Coffee tourism. As a part of tourist amusement, the animals are often drugged so that they are safe to be petted by tourists who pose with them for photos.

Save the binturong from Kopi Luwak cruelty!

Binturongs are often captured and cruelly separated from their families. Palm oil and timber deforestation enables hunters to have easy access to binturongs in their forest homes. The two major threats are related! If you care about binturongs, support organisations that save and protect binturongs from the cruel Kopi Luwak trade, speak out online about it and boycott this cruel practice. Additionally, make sure you Use your wallet as a weapon and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife every time you shop!

ABConservation is an organisation dedicately solely to the protection of Binturongs and they work to stop the illegal pet trade and ads on social media and much more. Find out more: ABConservation.

The Civet Project are dedicated to calling out the immense cruelty and travelwashing that goes on to promote the cruel and disgusting Kopi Luwak coffee trade. Donating to these projects is worth your money!

Further Information

Abedin, I., Mukherjee, T., Kim, A. R., Kim, H. W., Lee, S. R., & Kundu, S. (2025). Shifting shadows: Assessing the habitat and climate change response of binturong (Arctictis binturong) in the conservation landscape of the Asian continent. Ecological Informatics, 85, Article 102941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102941

Britannica. (n.d.). Binturong. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/animal/binturong

Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania. (n.d.). Binturong (Arctictis binturong): Species risk assessment. Retrieved from

Gomez, L., Shepherd, C.R. The illegal trade of binturongs in Indonesia (arctictis binturong). Discov Anim 1, 27 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44338-024-00029-8

Irawati Dwi Arini, D., Fitriari, U., & Fahmi Firdaus, M. (2024). Observation on Binturong (Arctictis binturong) behaviour and its conservation management practices at Semarang Zoo, Central Java. BIO Web of Conferences, 123, Article 01045. https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/202412301045

Honda, A., Amir, Z., Mendes, C. P., Moore, J. H., & Luskin, M. S. (2024). Binturong ecology and conservation in pristine, fragmented and degraded tropical forests. Oryx, 58(2), 218–227. doi:10.1017/S0030605322001491

Hooper, J. (2025). The conservation costs of commercial breeding of civet pets in Indonesia. Discover Animals, 2(1), pp.1-10. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44338-025-00050-5 

Hooper, J. (2023) Fill Your Cup: A Multi-Species Exploration of Balinese Kopi Luwak Agrotourism. In: Tourism, Heritage and Commodification of Non-human Animals: A Posthumanist Reflection. Eds: López-López, Á., Jafet Quintero Venegas, G., and Kline, C. CABI:  https://doi.org/10.1079/9781800623309.0004 

Hooper, J., Linna, M., Kassinen, S., and Salvage, J. (2022) Technologies, Bodies and Faecal Matters: Embodied Empathy with Coffee Producing Civets. Transpositiones. Journal for Transdisciplinary and Intermedial Culture Studies. 1 (2), 73-93: https://doi.org/10.14220/trns.2022.1.2.73 

Hooper, J. (2022) Cat-Poo-Chino and Captive Wildlife: Tourist Perceptions of Balinese Kopi Luwak Agrotourism. Society and Animals. Pre-Print: https://brill.com/view/journals/soan/aop/article-10.1163-15685306-bja10094/article-10.1163-15685306-bja10094.xml 

Hooper, J. (2022) Contamination: The Case of Civets, Companionship, COVID and SARS. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. 25 (2), 167-179: https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2022.2028627

Nairn, C. (2016, October 13). What is a binturong? Almost Famous Animals. Asia. Retrieved from https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/its-a-bear-its-a-cat-no-its-a-binturong-and-its-threatened/

ScienceDirect. (2024). Binturong habitat preferences and behavioural ecology. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954124004837

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Binturong. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binturong

Willcox, D.H.A., Chutipong, W., Gray, T.N.E., Cheyne, S., Semiadi, G., Rahman, H., Coudrat, C.N.Z., Jennings, A., Ghimirey, Y., Ross, J., Fredriksson, G. & Tilker, A. 2016. Arctictis binturong. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41690A45217088. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41690A45217088.en. Downloaded on 08 June 2021.

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