Haliaeetus Well-Known Member 2 Dec 2025 #41 The female Binturong VIVVY has passed away at the age of 13. Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on Instagram: "We have some very sad news to report. We are devastated that Vivvy, one of our Binturongs, has passed away at the age of 13. Recently we noticed Vivvy limping and having mobility issues with her rear left leg. Diagnostic testing and an x-ray exam revealed the worst possible outcome: osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, had critically eaten away Vivvy’s leg bone. With our veterinary team, we made the heartbreaking but humane decision to euthanize her. Vivvy and her mate Anton, came to us just this past spring from the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana. With their sweet disposition and curious character, they have both stolen our keepers’ hearts and fascinated our students and visitors, many of whom had never heard of, let alone seen, a Binturong before. Vivvy was born on August 10th, 2012, at the Prague Zoological Gardens in the Czech Republic. She and Anton first met at the Chicago Brookfield Zoo in 2013 and then moved to Mesker Park in 2020. Their most recent babies, or bintlets, Poppy and Pretzel, were born at Mesker Park in April of 2023. In the wild, binturongs live about 16 to 18 years. But in human care, they can live to be 25 years old. As a new species to the Trevor Zoo, we were looking forward to many years with Vivvy and we are shocked and saddened by this development. Please hold us in your thoughts during this difficult time."
The female Binturong VIVVY has passed away at the age of 13. Trevor-Lovejoy Zoo on Instagram: "We have some very sad news to report. We are devastated that Vivvy, one of our Binturongs, has passed away at the age of 13. Recently we noticed Vivvy limping and having mobility issues with her rear left leg. Diagnostic testing and an x-ray exam revealed the worst possible outcome: osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, had critically eaten away Vivvy’s leg bone. With our veterinary team, we made the heartbreaking but humane decision to euthanize her. Vivvy and her mate Anton, came to us just this past spring from the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana. With their sweet disposition and curious character, they have both stolen our keepers’ hearts and fascinated our students and visitors, many of whom had never heard of, let alone seen, a Binturong before. Vivvy was born on August 10th, 2012, at the Prague Zoological Gardens in the Czech Republic. She and Anton first met at the Chicago Brookfield Zoo in 2013 and then moved to Mesker Park in 2020. Their most recent babies, or bintlets, Poppy and Pretzel, were born at Mesker Park in April of 2023. In the wild, binturongs live about 16 to 18 years. But in human care, they can live to be 25 years old. As a new species to the Trevor Zoo, we were looking forward to many years with Vivvy and we are shocked and saddened by this development. Please hold us in your thoughts during this difficult time."
