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Binturong or bearcat (Arctictis binturong), Artis Zoo, Amsterdam: photo by Stewart Leiwakabessy, 4 October 2009
The Binturong
or bearcat
is neither bear nor cat
when cornered vicious
when happy emits
chuckling sounds
Dwells
in the trees
of the rainforest canopy
for now
but here comes
the buzz saw
Binturong or bearcat (Arctictis binturong), Zoo Parc Overloon, Netherlands: photo by Truus and Zoo, 25 May 2010
Binturong or bearcat (Arctictis binturong), Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem, Netherlands: photo by Truus and Zoo, 18 August 2009
Binturong or bearcat (Arctictis binturong), Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem, Netherlands: photo by Misha Davids, 29 July 2011
Binturong or bearcat (Arctictis binturong), baby with mother, Jardin des Plantes, Paris: photo by Pierre Ricadat, 4 March 2011
A young bear cat kept as a pet by Orang Asli in Taman Negara (Malaysia): photo by Bart Van den Bosch,16 August 2004
Head of a Binturong (arcticts binturong), Jardin des Plantes, Paris: photo by Jastrow, 2006
Binturong (Arctictis binturong) at Overloon, Netherlands: photo by Tassilo Rau, Summer 2004
for Susan Kay Anderson, lover of bears and cats
15 comments:
This is lovely, as is the binturong. You fail to mention, however, that they smell like popcorn. (They really do.) When Jane was still going to little kid birthday parties, there were many held at a wonderful place in Chestnut Ridge, New York called Outragehiss Pets. The binturong was our absolute favorite. Curtis
Curtis,
O heavens, I should have known there was one person out there in the animal loving universe who would remember that interesting factoid.
And as a matter of factoids, here are the pertinent lines from the Draft:
Scent of Binturong musk
reminiscent of cornbread
and hot buttered popcorn
(Those lines were lost, as it happens, due to what I guess is called technical difficulty. The post suffered severe editorial excisions as a result of the phenomenon of incipient Blogger Doom, a condition heralded by swarms of Error Messages, banners saying Achtung! Halt! -- and We Aren't Kidding! As these developments are concurrent with similar developments in the temporal lobe where there remains a gaping hole from the auto hit, it may be that editorial concerns have been rendered strictly academic anyhow. I can only say right now that the little kid birthday party to which you refer sounds to me like the greatest party of all time. Yay Binturong!)
TOM CLARK’S BINTURONG
What’s that you say?
Been to wrong?
I beg to differ,
Sir, no way
This critter could have been
There—I see right written all
Over its face, so better
Just get that
Buzz saw out
Of the way.
I'll accept any form of torture -- just don't touch my Binturong!!
Tom,
Binturongs (on branches and at birthday parties) rule!
7.24
grey whiteness of fog against invisible
top of ridge, bird slanting to the left
in foreground, wave sounding in channel
atmosphere, remembered fact
there as then at hand
done earlier, carried color,
as in drawing of body
grey white of fog reflected in channel,
line of pelicans flapping toward point
Steve,
Ah, sad! for habitat encroachment threatens the poor beautiful popcorn-scented Binturong,
with its bushy prehensile tail like a fifth hand, fully as long as its body,
as in drawing of body,
Swinging along by that great tail through the trees,
leaping from branch to branch,
rotating its head backwards so that claws grip
as it climbs down a tree
head first, howling
to announce its presence
to other Binturong
there as then
now maybe, maybe
not much longer
Huge paws press the branch
bear cat
wolverine
or other mix
crosses
my mind
crisscross
ready for action
asleep
Thanks for the dedication. I am flattered beyond belief. Now, I don't know whether to look for berries or crawl up onto a branch and spy down at the people, small as ants. Anywhere I go, there is fear--especially when I find I am not in the forest any longer but exposed and observed; a dish of water and some food. But, I guess I am in it with the others (for now).
Well, Zoos are what they are.
Somebodies always poking, laughing, saying Popcorn.
Probably maybe the best part left now is the Asleep.
(There was a vote here to eliminate the Malaysian pet Binturong on the grounds of the plastic bag, but I rounded on that view with the contention that being a pet is better than being an inmate... probably maybe. Also that's the only one of these Binturongs that has not been Europeanized. Counts for something.)
Europe, what's that? The E.U.S. of A.?
I think it's that place where the diplomats are trained to terrorize housemaids. (They scare Binturong, too.)
I love the attentiveness in the last one, which may well be your final look at all if you were on the receiving end of it. Gorgeous animal, and I'm now very interested to smell one. I attended the University of Cincinnati, whose mascot is a the bearcat. The campus, sadly, rarely smelled of popcorn.
Popcorn is the only thing right
about the animal wrong
for so long--
what else
cannot be right
a little too wrong, not just wrong
so off track like love
like when the teen-aged students say
Miss, you're too wrong
I know they are right
forever I am their
wrong teacher
not the right one
distracted by wrong answers
and wrong questions
right there in it
half bear half cat
Brad,
I like the way that one seems to be aware of us, yet no more than mildly curious and not visibly alarmed. Good for us, in that case. (True also of the second one, directly under the wee poem.)
In our Other World.
Susan,
Too right, mate. One person's right might be another's wrong, even if both are wrong. And right. The main thing, keep them open to the possibility of enjoying being conscious. And at very least, not TOO pissed off.
But then again...
Anger is an energy. I could be wrong. I could be right.
Meanwhile...
Binturong gets curious
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