Everyone knows the advantages of having a team called the Bearcats — the strength of a bear combined with the speed of a cat. All the strengths of Maine’s and New Hampshire’s mascots, but with none of their weaknesses. But what exactly is a bearcat (besides lovable)?

Fans may be interested to learn that the bearcat is in fact neither a bear, nor a cat. The bearcat is better known as the binturong, a member of the civet species, a group of tree-dwelling carnivores with cat-like bodies and otter-like muzzles. The binturong is endangered thanks to the destruction of its natural habitats in Southeast Asia, Borneo, Vietnam, Indonesia and, apparently, Vestal, N.Y.

The binturong is a nocturnal being, and like our men’s soccer team, can become vicious if cornered. The binturong is known to make a chuckling sound when it appears happy, which is ironic because the one bearcat that has been brought into captivity on campus (Baxter) remains silent even when he seems most happy. One can only assume that Baxter has never experienced true happiness. Maybe if we had a football team.

The binturong is known for being slow and graceful, so Nick Billings had it half correct when he was still here. No one knows where the nickname bearcat arose from, but chances are it’s because long ago the binturong elders realized that no one would name a team the Binghamton Binturongs.