Raising awareness and promoting binturong

Education and awareness //

In France

Since 2015
All over France

Through public events, we aim to promote the image of the binturong in order to raise public awareness of the species and its protection.

What's in progress

Creation of educational activities for school groups

What has already been done

- World Binturong Day created in 2015
- Creation in 2020 of a "Raising public awareness of binturong protection" training course for professionals and the general public, with the 1st training session in January 2020.
- Creation in 2021 of the educational Escape Game "Countdown for the binturongs".

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The challenge: a little-known animal

Binturong is a endemic mammal of Southeast Asia. Little is known about it, either in France or in its native range. In fact, it is an animal arboriculture which is used to wandering through trees up to 30 meters high. What's more, it's mostly nocturnal and solitary. These three characteristics make it a very difficult animal to observe in its natural environment. Since it was discovered 200 years ago, only a handful of scientific studies have been carried out on it (mostly in captivity), so it remains a mystery to most of us, even though it plays a vital role in the life of the species. a key role in forest regeneration. But that won't be the case for much longer, thanks to awareness-raising activities and World Binturong Day organized by ABConservation for the general public!

Binturong in the trees - Menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, France. Credit E. Baril

Goals: raise public awareness

Intervention 2019 - Trégomeur Zoo, France. Credit AG. Perio

To raise awareness among the general public, ABConservation has set up various activities on the theme of binturong, with several aims:

Promoting the image of binturong (Maybe one day he'll be as famous as the panda, who knows?).
Sharing knowledge learn about the binturong, why it's important to protect it and what role it plays in the balance of South Asian ecosystems
Exposing threats and what we can do at our level to reduce them.

Our action: awareness-raising activities and World Binturong Day

ABConservation uses a variety of strategies to bring binturong to the attention of the general public.

World Binturong Day 2019 - Jardin des Plantes Menagerie, Paris, France. Credit E. Baril

Educational activities in zoos

Since 2015, the World Binturong Day is celebrated every year on the 2nd Saturday in May in many countries around the world! Each year, the association is hosted by the Menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, where the idea of creating ABConservation was born in the mind of Pauline, the association's president.

On this day, various educational activities are offered for both adults and children.

Following the model of World Binturong Day, several educational activities in zoos are carried out throughout the year for the general public.

Educational activities in schools and for the general public

From interventions in schools with schoolchildren and students are also planned, as well as conferences and training for adults and professionals in the animal world, but also in the field of education and conservation of endangered species.

With all the people who took part in the presentations, but also in the various World Binturong Days, more and more people are discovering binturong every year. As a result, more and more people are becoming aware of the threats to Asian forests, which are directly affected by our consumption (of food, cosmetics and petrol). Our actions are bearing fruit, and this motivates us all the more to continue our efforts!

Our educational tools are available free of charge in our documentation area.

Fête de la Nature 2016 - Natural History Museum, Paris, France. Credit E. Baril

Conference for SECAS members - Paris, France. Credit E. Baril

Would you like us to visit your facility?

If you would like us to visit your establishment (school, university, zoo, company or other), don't hesitate to send us an email to contact@abconservation.org to discuss the theme and date of your visit.

People in the field: volunteers and members are our strength

World Binturong Day 2017 - La ménagerie / le zoo du jardin des plantes, Paris, France. Credit E. Baril

Our actions are mainly led by the association's president, Pauline Kayser, but would be impossible without the invaluable and indispensable help of our civic service volunteers, volunteers and members. It's thanks to them that we can carry out so many activities and spread the word about binturong!

If you'd like to help out in one of our workshops as a volunteer, you can visit our volunteering page for all the information you need. There are a number of different missions, so you're sure to find one that suits you!