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Wednesday, April 24, 2002

By Jeffrey Cohan, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

"Binny" the binturong may be experiencing his proverbial 15 minutes of fame, but he shouldn't expect to receive any fan mail today.

The problem is, he keeps changing his address.

The itinerant Asian bearcat moved yesterday to the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, where he will remain only until the state game commission can find him a permanent -- and permitted -- home.

Since escaping from a Beaver County barn over the weekend, Binny has been bearcatnapping wherever he can.

He first showed up Sunday morning as a surprise and snoozing visitor on the doorstep of Gerry and Joan States in Economy. Then the dog catcher hauled him to a kennel in McKees Rocks, where he spent Sunday and Monday nights.

Yesterday morning, the zoo took responsibility for his welfare, putting him in quarantine, out of public view.

Binturongs, which few people around here had ever heard of until Binny made the front page on Monday, are native to Southeast Asia, where they literally hang around in trees with their long tails.

Brad Wilfong of New Sewickley said his wife bought the binturong when it was a baby in 1999 from Living Treasures Animal Park, which operates near Moraine State Park and in Laurel Highlands.

The Wilfongs named their new pet "Binny" and housed him in a barn on their property.

State law forbids keeping a binturong as a pet. Binturong ownership requires a menagerie permit, which the state game commission only issues to zoos and other institutions that have legitimate reasons to keep such an animal.

The game commission is conducting an investigation that could lead to criminal fines for both the Wilfongs and Living Treasures.

"There is still a lot to get sorted out here," said Mel Schake, a game commission supervisor.

He said Living Treasures apparently does not hold an exotic animal dealer permit to legally sell a binturong in Pennsylvania.

And even if a seller has such a permit, a binturong cannot legally be sold to a buyer that doesn't have a menagerie permit, he said.

Living Treasures owner Tom Guiher did not return messages.

Wilfong, who works as an assistant manager in a Cranberry pet store, said it never occurred to him that he could not legally buy a pet binturong.

While the investigation proceeds, the zoo is helping the game commission find a permanent home for Binny by checking the official binturong stud book, a registry of the animals kept under the auspices of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

The zoo has had a binturong of its own since 1993, a male featured in educational programs in the Kids Kingdom section, according to Rachel Capp, a zoo spokeswoman.

One option under consideration for Binny is a binturong breeding facility in Dillsburg, York County, run by Wendy Looker, the founder of Rehabitat Inc., a nonprofit wildlife group.

At 3 years of age and a healthy 40 pounds, Binny is entering his prime. Binturongs have an average lifespan of about 15 years.

Triangle Pet Service of McKees Rocks, the company that captured Binny on Sunday, incorrectly identified Binny as a female.

It turns out, the males of the species are not well-endowed.

"Their [gender] is not at all apparent without really looking them over," Looker said.

Binny, for his part, would probably like nothing better than a nonjudgmental female binturong and a stable home.

"This has to be very stressful for him," Looker said. "They are not an animal that adapts well to change."