The Green Planet’s diverse wildlife family just got a little bigger.
The indoor rainforest bio-dome, which is already home to more than 3,000 flora and fauna, recently announced that it is introducing a male binturong, also known as a bearcat, into its furry family.
Named Fluffy thanks to his adorable appearance, the animal aged 2 has the face of a cat, a body like a small bear and a tail like that of a monkey's. He weighs 14 kilograms, but can grow to a weight of 30kg and up to 80 centimetres long, which would make him the largest animal to reside in The Green Planet.
What is a bearcat?
Despite its name, the mammal is neither a bear nor a cat. Instead, it belongs to the Viverridae family, a group of small to medium-sized animals found in the eastern hemisphere.
They are characterised by shaggy black fur (hence Fluffy’s name), long ear tufts, whiskers and a prehensile tail, which means that it can be used to grasp objects. They are usually found in dense tropical rainforests in South-East Asia and, with populations in decline over the past years, have been classified as vulnerable.
They live high up in the forest canopy and rarely come down to the ground. They are good climbers and have strong feet and semi-retractable claws. Their hind legs can rotate backwards so their claws can have a good grip when climbing down a tree headfirst. They cannot leap between trees owing to their size but often sleep high up in them, curling up in a ball with heads tucked under tail.
Where did this little guy come from?
Fluffy’s arrival in the region makes him a first in the UAE.
According to The Green Planet, this will also be the first time in the world that a multi-species rainforest biodome has introduced the animal.
“Fluffy was born at a zoological facility in Serbia. He is a solitary animal, which means that he does not live in groups or families and, therefore, it was time for him to leave his parents and become an ambassador on behalf of his species and for all larger rainforest animals,” says Victoria Lynn, general manager, Dubai Holding Entertainment – Attraction.
“By joining The Green Planet, he will help to teach us more about the incredible bearcat species and help to educate our guests and visitors on why the protection of the environment and the bearcat habitat is so important,” she says.
Settling into his new quarters
According to Lynn, Fluffy is settling in well, and guests now have the opportunity to visit him.
Fluffy’s new home is located right in the centre of the biodome, and The Green Planet told The National he's free to roam around the entire indoor rainforest's space. This fulfils international zoological best practice standards and the habitat needs of the bearcat, according to the facility.
He has been spending time in his new home by taking naps and eating his favourite foods, which includes bananas, grapes and apricots. Fluffy is an omnivore, so cooked chicken is also on the figurative table.
Here are some other cool facts about bearcats, shared by The Green Planet team:
- Fluffy smells like popcorn. Bearcat species have scent glands located under their tails and, as they mark branches and foliage as their territory, they let off a scent similar to the popular theatre snack.
- They walk like bears with flat feet, with side-to-side movement.
- The meaning of the word binturong is unknown as the language it was derived from is now extinct.
- Bearcats have a special digestive enzyme capable of softening the tough outer covering of the fig’s seed. This makes it a “keystone species” in their rainforest’s ecosystem – essential to the survival of the entire rainforest.
- They make a lot of noise to communicate, including chuckles, growls and hisses. Expressive and communicative, they can even purr to show affection to each other.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Normal People
Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
