Enviable Maillard Gland

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Enviable Maillard Gland

Today’s special animal friends are more Viverrids.  To review, viverrids are family in the “more like a cat” suborder Feliformia of the “meat-eater teeth” order Carnivora.  We learned that many Carnivora are actually omnivores. 

Our friend Wilhelm recently mentioned the “bearcat,” mascot of Brescia University. This member of the viverrid family is the Binturong, Arctictis binturong.  It is the only member of the genus Arctictis, which means “bear weasel,” both of which are in the “more like a dog” suborder Caniformia, but they didn't know that when the species was described in 1822.  Binturongs live in southeast Asia and some of the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines.  They prefer tall trees in hills or mountains; they have been observed at elevations up to 3,900 feet. 

Binturongs are long and heavy, growing over 5 feet, nose to tail, and weighing up to 70 lbs. in captivity.  Their fur is thick, black, and coarse. They have short, stout legs with five-clawed feet.  The tail, nearly as long as the body, is muscular and prehensile, tapering from a thick base to a narrower tip.  Their faces have lighter fur than the body, with a prominent nose, small eyes, and impressive whiskers (“vibrissae”).  Their small ears are tipped with white fur.

Like other viverrids, binturongs have musk glands near the anus.  The scent of binturongs’ musk is described as “popcorn” or “corn chips”; it is due to the volatile compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline in their urine.  This chemical is also produced by the Maillard Reaction, a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor.  Now we know.  Super cute:

Binturongs are considered Vulnerable by IUCN.  They are hunted for meat and skins in some parts of southeast Asia, but habitat loss is the greatest threat.  They thrive in natural forests and do not take to commercial tree plantations.

In addition to the binturong and an interesting array of Southeast Asian civets, some, such as the palm civets, even cuter than the binturong, the Viverridae family includes over a dozen species of genets, genus Genetta.  Most of them are found in Africa, in a wide variety of habitats except for the Sahara desert.  The common genet, Genetta genetta, is native to Africa but was brought to Europe in the Middle Ages as an exotic pet.  They went native and are doing well in Spain and France. The common genet is found in northern and southern Africa, plus a wide band across the middle of the continent, and in spots on the coast of the Arabian peninsula.  They live in dense vegetation, both shrubland and forest, and have a mainly carnivorous diet.  They are a species of Least Concern.

Related to the genets are two species of oyan or linsang, found in rainforest canopies in small areas of western and central Africa.  They are considered Vulnerable, even though not much is known about them, because of threats to their habitat.