Two binturong's all the way from England are getting used to their new home at Riverside's Tasmania Zoo.

Binturongs, also known as 'bearcats' are native to South-East Asia and, as the name suggests, psychically looks like a mix of a bear and cat.

Riley Lowe, zookeeper at Tasmania Zoo said that they are very interesting, unique animals that most people have never seen or heard of before.

"Their closest relative is a civet or a fossa, but they are even more unique than that. They are also listed as 'vulnerable' so we are hoping that they may mate and produce babies for us," he said.

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"They are native to South-East Asia, countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. They are classified as vulnerable, as a lot of their natural habitat is being destroyed and they are also hunted for meat, fur and for the exotic pet trade.

"We have two here at the zoo now, which have been imported from the UK so hopefully that will add some really good genetics to the Australian breeding program."

The two animals, a male and female, had never met before being introduced into their Tasmanian enclosure.

Mr Lowe said that the most interesting thing about them is the way they smell, something that zoo visitors will definitely not miss.

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"They smell like freshly-made popcorn," he said.

"It's their scent marking, which is a sweet popcorn smell.

"As we have walked past the enclosure the last couple of days we have had the smell as if we were walking into the cinema. Even though they haven't been out much as it's been quite chilly you definitely cannot miss the smell of them."

Mr Lowe and the team at Tasmania Zoo said they would encourage the public to come down and experience it for themselves.

"We would love for people to come out and see the new animals, even though it is a bit chilly," he said.

"We have a lot of new animals in the process of being moved here, but COVID delayed some of those unfortunately.

"We are always working on getting new species, it's exciting for us and the public."

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