Present and Future Binturongs

Binturongs, tree-dwelling mammals, live in the tropical forest of southeast Asia. Spending most of their time in trees, they have a long prehensile tail for grasping, specialized ankles that help with headfirst climbing, and strong paws with long, sharp claws for grasping onto tree trunks and branches. They also have good vision that allows them to see during the day and hunt at night. As temperatures rise and change, rainforests may lose lots of its trees and may cause the binturongs to face a warmer climate and different terrain. Future Binturongs could evolve to have lighter fur to help them camouflage in dry grass. With less trees and more ground area, longer legs could help them run faster and its tail would change to help it maintain balance as it runs. They might also adapt to have larger ears to better help with heat dissipation.