civet awareness | LIFE OF A COMMON PALM CIVET IN SINGAPORE

A post dedicated to familiarising ourselves with the very reason of existence of this blog – The common palm civet. Here are five interesting stories about the common palm civet that we would like to share with our readers.

The tales of the palm civet’s multiple names.

Common palm civets are often referred to by a number of names. In the Malay language, it is known as the Musang, which also means weasel or fox. Other common names that the civets go by include, musang pandan and luwak.

In English, it is nicknamed ‘Toddy cat’ for its love of consuming the sap from palm trees, an ingredient for an alcoholic drink Toddy. People commonly think that civets are cats, but they actually have a closer relation to mongooses and hyenas.

Toddy alcoholic drink. Photograph by Kanchana Karunaratne (@ http://kanchana2015.blogspot.sg)

Its scientific name is Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, a Latin name with a very curious etymology. The species epithet ‘hermaphroditus’ is a result of confusion in sexing the animal, as both male and female have scent glands (AKA perineal glands) located under their tails, and yep you’ve guessed it, they resemble the testicles (Nelson, 2013).

Sensing with scents.

Scents are important communication tools for the common palm civets, particularly so when it comes to territorial demarcation. Believe it or not, the common palm civets are able to discern the sex, species and familiarity of the scent’s owner, just by scent-markings alone (Nelson, 2013). The common palm civets leave behind self-identifying scents in the following methods:

Dragging their scent glands against ground surfaces (longest-lasting)
Rubbing their heels on walking surfaces
Rubbing their ear-neck areas for surfaces above ground
Urination
Defecation
Anal drag (done after defecation)

What do civets eat?

The civet is omnivorous, eating a mixed diet of animals smaller than itself, molluscs, insects, leaves and a substantial diversity of fruits (we find out by sorting through their scat). They have teeth adapted to life as a fruit-eater (Nelson, 2013). And amazingly, the seeds actually remain mostly undamaged and are still able to germinate after passing through its digestive tract! Civets can be fantastic seed dispersers. This is especially so since they are not just confined to trees, and have been known to defecate and hence deposit seeds on the grounds of the forests, on the tree branches as well as in open areas created by fallen logs (Chakravarthy & Ratnam, 2015).

So... what did the civet eat? Research team sorting through civet scat.

So… what did the civet eat? Sorting through the civet scat.

How many babies do civets have?

Mummy civet with her 2 babies. Photograph taken by Chan Kwok Wai.

As solitary animals, the common palm civets track potential mates using scent-markings left by perineal glands. The scent-markings are indicative of the owner’s receptivity. Upon successful mating, the civet’s gestation period lasts an average of 60 days (Nelson, 2013). Each time, the mummy civets give birth to a litter of 2 to 5 babies, in nests usually located in tree hollows, crevices or other inconspicuous hiding spots. Young civets are taken care by their mothers for 3 months on average. Female civets take between 11 to 12 months to mature and be receptive to mating, while male civets take between 9 to 11 months. On average, civets have a lifespan of between 22 to 24 years (Tan, 2008).

A juvenile common palm civet caught on our night camera.

Do common palm civets have SARS?? NOPE.

Anyone still remember the nightmare of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak back in 2003?

The common palm civet’s reputation was not spared too. Initial reports stated that masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) were found to have SARS-associated coronavirus. In a bid to contain the situation, there were plans to massacre 10,000 civets and even cull wild civet populations in China (Lovgren, 2003). However, later studies then found that the palm civets were not the source of SARS (Wang & Eaton, 2007). Instead, the host of the coronavirus was horseshoe bats and the inter-species transmission was due to the poor hygiene and cramped conditions in a live animal market (Lau et. al. 2005).

Those were some tough times for civets. The masked palm civet that was implicated in the SARS saga is a completely different species from Singapore’s common palm civet. There is no reason to associate the local palm civets with the episode of SARS, and there is certainly no need to worry about any common palm civet encounter in Singapore.

Masked palm civet (Paguma larvae), also an asian civet, but a completely different species from the common palm civets we have in Singapore.

Masked palm civet (Paguma larvata) is also an asian civet, a completely different species from the common palm civets we have in Singapore. Photograph by Pete Oxford.

As Ria Tan (2008) from Wildsingapore puts it and I humbly quote: the SARS outbreak has shown us first-hand the dangers of human consumption of wildlife and closer interaction with wildlife as we encroach on and destroy wild habitats. The SARS episode, even long passed, is an extremely valuable lesson which highlights clearly to us the need to respect, as well as to protect nature.

References

Chakravarthy, D., & Ratnam, J. (2015). Seed dispersal of Vitex glabrata and Prunus ceylanica by Civets (Viverridae) in Pakke Tiger Reserve, north-east India: spatial patterns and post-dispersal seed fates. Tropical Conservation Science, 2(8), 491.

Lau, S.K., Woo, P.C., Li, K.S., Huang, Y., Tsoi, H.W., Wong, B.H., Wong, S.S., Leung, S.Y., Chan, K.H., and Yuen, K.Y. (2005). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe bats. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 102(39):14040-14045.

Lovgren, S. (2003). SARS Scapegoat? China Slaughtering Civet Cats. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0109_040109_SARS.html

Nelson, J. (2013). Paradoxurus hermaphroditus. Retrieved May 23, 2015, from http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Paradoxurus_hermaphroditus/

Tan, R. (2008). Common palm civet. Retrieved May 23, 2016, from http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/hermaphroditus.htm

Wang, L. F., & Eaton, B. T. (2007). Bats, civets and the emergence of SARS. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70962-6_13

Photographs

“An adventures drink” by Kanchana Karunaratne. 10 September 2015. URL:http://wildpix.blogspot.sg/2011/04/common-palm-civet-of-siglap-estate.html

“A Mum with 2 kittens” by Chan Kwokwai. Flickr. 10 April 2011. URL:http://kanchana2015.blogspot.sg/2015/09/an-adventures-drink.html

“Masked palm civet (Paguma larvata)” by Pete Oxford. Widescreen Arkive. URL:http://www.arkive.org/masked-palm-civet/paguma-larvata/image-G114341.html

By Claudia Ang

The NUS Civet Research Team has been amping up its efforts to provide school talks island-wide, in hopes that students growing up in Singapore will be better equipped with a knowledge and appreciation for the common palm civet, one of the country’s last wild urban native carnivores. The team’s researchers, Xu Weiting and Fung Tze Kwan, both of whom are NUS Toddycats, have carried out research on the distribution, biology, and diet of the civets in Singapore. The presentations and exhibition are thus supported by the scientific research work which the team does. The talks are conducted by the two researchers and civet intern, Claudia Ang. From mid 2015, there have been plenty of talks and events that are scheduled for the coming months, but here is an overview of what we have done so far:

31 July 2015 – Presentation and Booth at Victoria Junior College Science Carnival

Left: Toddycats all smiles before students arrive

As part of the East Zone Science Carnival held by VJC, we had a specimen booth which illustrated the story of Singapore’s biodiversity. Weiting also gave a talk on raise awareness for the civet as one of Singapore’s last urban mammal. Having been there for five hours, the team managed to reach more than 150 students.

19 October 2015 – School Presentation at Victoria School

Students at Victoria School learn about the threats encountered by the civet in Singapore.

School talks cover the biology of the civet, its behavioural adaptations, and the threats that it faces in urban Singapore. Students also learn some ways in which they can help the civet, both locally and regionally. This was a talk given to a cohort of 300 secondary two Victoria School students.

16 November 2015 – School Presentation at MacPherson Primary School

MacPherson Primary students listen in attentively as the talk begins.

This was a presentation at MacPherson Primary School, where we reached out to 130 students. There is usually a QnA session at the end of the talk, where students can take the opportunity to clarify their doubts or request for more information on issues that have piqued their interest.

18 November 2015 – School Presentation at West Grove Primary School

West Grove Primary students being posed a few questions on the civet.

In that same week, we were invited to present at West Grove Primary School, where 300 students attended the talk.

2 February 2016 – Talk for Cnergy Programme students at Catholic High School

We had our very first talk of 2016 at Catholic High School, where we presented to a group of Integrated Programme students. It was a small group of approximately 20 students, who showed a developed interest in animal welfare issues. Many of them were also interested in seeking out opportunities to volunteer/work in for environmental conservation organisations too.

5 February 2016 – Talk for Green Group students at Mayflower Primary School

We had presented on civets and the native biodiversity to approximately 35 students part of the school’s environmental group. The students were highly engaged and gave excellent learning points gleaned from the short presentation.

18 February 2016 – School talk at Methodist Girls’ School

We presented on the biology and threats to civets as a link to the 210 secondary 1 students’ recent lesson on biodiversity and its importance to man. During the presentation, we also included a section on the importance of forests such as MacRitchie and the Cross Island Line issues which are important to both the civets and us.

1 & 3 March 2016 – School talks at Hai Sing Catholic School

Learning all about the civet’s adaptability to our urban environment.

We visited Hai Sing Catholic School on two occasions to present to their lower secondary and upper secondary students respectively, reaching approximately 1200 students in that week.

29 March 2016 – Assembly talk for Upper Secondary Lower Peirce Secondary

We visited Lower Peirce Secondary to raise awareness on civets and other common wildlife in Singapore to 340 upper secondary students. They enjoyed the talk and learnt new and interesting information about our local biodiversity.

While we are warmed by the positive responses received from the students, much more has to be done to increase awareness of the civets and Singapore’s biodiversity to allow for better, more efficient conservation to happen. With all the presentations conducted and soon-to-happen, we hope that students inculcate within them a sense of pride in Singapore’s vibrant landscape and rich biodiversity, and thus a sense of protection for their environment. If you are interested in finding out more on what the NCRT does, do visit their website at https://blog.nus.edu.sg/singaporecivet/the-civet-team/ or write to us if you want our team to visit your school or event!

LIFE OF A COMMON PALM CIVET IN SINGAPORE

the musings of a musang

Category Archives: civet awareness

5 stories about the Common Palm Civet

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