In 2010, when I was still doing my honours thesis, I managed to capture photos of a curious civet wandering out on a field before nightfall.

Mr Kinky Tail exploring the field in daytime

This civet is a special urban common palm civet that we have affectionately named “Mr Kinky Tail” due to a kink at the base of its tail. Furthermore, for the scientific name of the common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), it is very challenging to distinguish between a male and a female civet due to the presence of scent glands in both sexes.

Mr Kinky Tail is our poster civet, its photos has been posted on blogs and also used in biodiversity talks to help the general public to learn about his civet friends and the threats they face in the wild and in urban areas. However, ever since, I finished my research work in mid 2010. I have yet to encounter Mr Kinky Tail and it has always held a special place in my heart being the first civet to be photographed in broad daylight.

Luckily, Mr Kinky Tail was photographed again in Oct 2011 by Ron Yeo.

Kinky Tail in a residence (Ron Yeo, Oct 2011)

Kinky Tail with opened mouth (Ron Yeo, 2011)

These photos were taken about 1.5 years later after the previous set of photos. It is extremely heartening to see the same individual still in the same area and doing well. Kinky Tail might be getting on with age with signs of cataracts and worn-down teeth. Nonetheless, we hope that Kinky Tail will continue to live to a ripe old age, running freely and enjoying its life out in urban Singapore.