February 27 was a special day for Loveland Living Planet Aquarium’s two Binturongs (bin-tur-oongs). Mee-noi and Berani (Bur-aw-nee) turned 4 years old. To celebrate, their keepers made them a beautiful cake of all edible and binturong-friendly ingredients including oranges, strawberries, a pomegranate jelly, and a blueberry-yogurt frosting on top.

Binturongs are also called bearcats, because they look like both a bear and a cat. But they’re actually not related to either animal. They are native to South and Southeast Asia. 

Binturongs are currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. They suffer from habitat loss due to deforestation, mainly for palm oil production. We are able to help by paying attention to the products we buy. It’s best to support products that use sustainable palm oil. This can be done using a free app called “Sustainable Palm Oil Shopping” developed by Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.