A PLAYFUL pair of endangered Asian cat-like mammals, called binturongs, are delighting visitors to the Cotswold Wildlife Park with their acrobatics.
Twins Fig and Rosie are the cubs of the Burford zoo's breeding pair, Dobby and Himala, which were introduced to each other back in 2018.
At the end of 2021, keepers suspected Himala was pregnant and after three months, she gave birth to twins, born in seclusion inside a nest box where they spent several weeks out of sight.
They eventually emerged and began exploring their heated indoor home under the watchful eye of their parents.
The female 'kits' have now started to venture into the exhibit's outdoor area where visitors have been amazed at their acrobatic prowess.
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In keeping with the tradition of naming cubs after fruits found in their native homeland of south-east Asia, one cub was named Fig after their favourite food.
However, the other has been named after mammal keeper James's late grandmother.
He explained: "When I started to work as a zookeeper, she would travel all over the country to visit me at work to see the animals in my care, including here at Cotswold Wildlife Park where she came to visit in 2019 and we had a picture taken.
"She loved her day at the park. She was, as she would say, my biggest fan, so it felt right when thinking of a name for the binturong kits that one of them should be called Rosie in her honour".
James added: "Both binturong kits have been an absolute delight to watch as they have grown they've been endless fun. Fig and Rosie are pretty much inseparable and are always busy getting up to all kinds of mischief.
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"Although both very cheeky, they have developed slightly different traits. Fig was a little bigger to start with and has always loved her food whereas Rosie can be a little bit more cautious at times but is never shy for too long.
"This is the first time that we have reared binturong twins here at the Park so to see them develop together has been very exciting for all of us with experienced parents Himala and Dobby taking it all in their stride."
The birth came ahead of last Saturday's World Binturong Day – a worldwide event to raise awareness for this rare and endangered mammal.
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