Bring Your Babies to Meet Some New Babies at Illinois’ Summerfield Zoo

Before summer ends, you must bring your family to Belvidere's Summerfield Farm and Zoo to meet some baby animals, and one of them smells like buttered popcorn.

That friend that comes to visit and always brings a little gift of some sort, Rick Andeson from Summerfield Zoo, stopped by the studios with one of his newest gifts.  The special gift was an 8-week-old Binturong.

What is a Binturong?

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They also call the binturong a 'bearcat', but it's not a bear or a cat. What this little furry dude is, is adorable.

Meet Orville, Summerfield Zoo named him Orville because when his scent glands are fully developed he will smell like popcorn.

We had a blast with him in the studio. Wait until you see how he gives hugs with his tail.

You need to hurry up to Summerfield Zoo to have your own encounter with Orville.

Summerfield Zoo Info

Summerfield Zoo is located at 3088 Flora Road

The zoo is open Saturdays 10:00 am - 5:00 pm and Sundays 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. There are special animal shows where you can get up close and in some cases even pet some of the animals in the show. Those shows are at 12 noon and 2 pm, both days. Visit their website or Facebook page for more details.

Fun Facts About Binturongs

Unique Scent

Binturong's distinctive smell is often compared to buttered popcorn or corn chips. The scent is produced by glands located near their tail base. They use this odor to mark their territory and communicate with other binturongs.

Prehensile Tail

Binturongs have a prehensile tail, which means they can use it like an extra limb to grasp objects and even hang upside down from branches, like a monkey.

Arboreal Lifestyle

Binturongs spend most of their lives in trees. Their strong tail and long claws make them well-suited for climbing and navigating through the forest canopy.

Fruit Eaters

While binturongs are classified as carnivores, their diet is mostly composed of fruits, supplemented with other foods like leaves, small mammals, birds, and insects. This makes them important for seed dispersal in their ecosystems.