Analyzing Why Bearcats Smell Like Popcorn

A new study adds to our knowledge of why some animals sometimes smell like buttered popcorn. The study is:

“Reproductive Endocrine Patterns and Volatile Urinary Compounds of Arctictis binturong: Discovering Why Bearcats Smell Like Popcorn,” Lydia K. Greene [pictured below], Timothy W. Wallen, Anneke Moresco, Thomas E. Goodwin, Christine M. Drea, The Science of Nature,  vol. 103, June 2016, 37. The authors, at Duke University and other institutions, explain:

Members of the order Carnivora rely on urinary scent signaling, particularly for communicating about reproductive parameters. Here, we describe reproductive endocrine patterns in relation to urinary olfactory cues in a vulnerable and relatively unknown viverrid—the binturong (Arctictis binturong).

(Thanks to Tony Tweedale for bringing this to our attention.)