Zoo Atlanta announces names for newborn binturongs

ATLANTA - Zoo Atlanta has announced the names of the two newborn binturong.

The zoo invited the public to select from two sets of names proposed by the zoo's carnivore team. The names Olive (male) and Fern (female) received the most votes.

More than 2,300 votes were cast. 

ORIGINAL STORY

Zoo Atlanta has three new additions, and they're making history in the city.

On Aug. 31, Zoo Atlanta welcomed the birth of three new binturongs. The little ones are the first offspring of mother Bramble and father Baloo and are the first binturongs ever to be born at the zoo.

Currently, two of the three bintlets are nursing normally with first-time mom Bramble. The third is temporarily being reared by the zoo's Animal Care and Veterinary Team in the hopes he can join his mom and siblings soon.

Weighing just 400 grams and the size of a squirrel, the babies will stay behind the scenes until they're large enough to head out into the outdoor habitat of the Zoo's Complex Carnivores zone.

(Zoo Atlanta)

"Zoo Atlanta was so excited to see Bramble and Baloo introduced in 2020, and we’re doubly excited to welcome their first bintlets," said Jennifer Mickelberg, Ph.D., the vice president of collections and conservation. "Many of our visitors have never heard of or seen a binturong, so we have a valuable opportunity to introduce a species that is not only intrinsically valuable in its own right in its wild ecosystem, but which also has an important conservation message to share."

The species, which is native to southern and southeast Asia, is also known as bearcats but are neither bears nor cats. They're one of the only two members of the Carnivora order to have a prehensile tail.

The interesting animals also are known for their scent, which smells like corn chips or buttered popcorn.

Bramble with two of her new babies (Zoo Atlanta)

Binturongs are designated vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to habitat loss and hunting.

For more updates on the binturongs, check out zooatlanta.org.