The persistence of seed-dispersing animals in degraded habitats could be critical for ensuring the long-term conservation value and restoration of forests. This is particularly important in Southeast Asia, where > 70% of the remaining forest areas are within 1 km of a forest edge, and many are degraded (e.g. logged). We synthesized information on the habitat associations of the binturong Arctictis binturong, a large, semi-arboreal, frugivorous civet and one of the most important seed dispersers in the region, especially for figs (Ficus spp). We adopted a multiscale approach by employing ensemble species distribution modelling from presence-only records, assessing landscape-scale variation in detection rates in published camera-trap studies and using hierarchical occupancy modelling to assess local (i.e. within-landscape) patterns observed from 20 new camera-trap surveys. Contrary to prior reports that binturongs are strongly associated with intact forests, the species was equally present in degraded forests and near forest edges where sufficient forest cover was maintained (> 40% forest cover within a 20-km radius). The species also tolerates moderate incursions of oil palm plantations (< 20% of the area within a 20-km radius covered by oil palm plantations). The relative resilience of binturongs to habitat degradation could be in part because of behavioural adaptations towards increased nocturnal activity. These results support the notion that key seed dispersers can persist and maintain their ecological function in degraded forests.

Among mammalian morphological specializations to arboreality, prehensile tails are the least studied. In carnivorans, two phylogenetically and ecologically distant representatives possess truly prehensile tails: the kinkajou Potos flavus, a neotropical procyonid and the binturong Arctictis binturong, a viverrid from south-east Asia. This paper examines osteological characters associated with tail prehensility by comparing carnivorans with and without prehensile tails. The prehensile-tailed taxa are characterized by: (a) a relatively longer proximal caudal region in length and number of vertebrae; (b) more robust distal caudal vertebrae, which possess expanded transverse processes. Comparable features have been also reported for prehensile-tailed primates, indicating evolutionary convergence. These features can be functionally associated with enhanced flexion–extension of the proximal part of the tail and increased strength and flexing capacity at the distal end of the tail. These tail movements are briefly described in free-ranging prehensile-tailed carnivorans.