A sneak peek into the life of a civet through camera trapping!

In recent years, camera traps have become the must-have equipment for any wildlife research.

The camera trap is a camera encased in a box which can be configured to capture a photo when triggered by the body heat or movement of an animal. This research technique has helped to shed light on many previously unknown secretive inhabitants of the forest. The photos have allowed researchers to detect presence, count abundance and also observe the behaviour of typically shy wildlife or animals that are located in remote areas. Similarly, for a nocturnal and elusive animal like the common palm civet, the camera trap technology has allowed us to have a sneak preview of the life of a common palm civet in Singapore.

Common palm civet in Singapore

Common palm civet in Singapore

Currently, there are many conservation programmes that utilise camera traps in their studies.  It is always exciting to retrieve and review the data from a camera trap because you will never know what surprises are stored within the tiny SD card.

We are especially glad that various species of civets have been occasionally photographed in camera traps around Asia. The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Programme based in Vietnam, has kindly shared with us three photos of small Indian civet and common palm civets captured by their camera traps.

IMAG0019 Small Indian Civet cropped

Small Indian civet

IMAG0011 common palm civet cropped

Common palm civet

IMAG0019 Common Palm Civet cropped

Close-up of a common palm civet

Another programme that has captured exciting civet photos is the Wildlife Conservation Society – India. They have managed to get a photo of the Brown palm civet (Paradoxurus jerdoni), a rare Western Ghats endemic species.

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With the improvement of camera trap technology, some even have video recording capabilities. The ability to capture video has allowed the camera traps to record short animal behavioural footages. One of our favourite video clip of a common palm civet was taken by Wildlife Conservation Society in Uganda, where a palm civet was startled by a small rodent.

Camera traps can provide valuable information to help us better understand the ecology of the civet and many other species as well. The possibilities of the use of camera traps in wildlife research and conservation are limitless and there is still much work to be done. If you are interested in this field, do consider starting a local camera trap research project with relevant permits and there will be surprises awaiting you!

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“Angry Civet Cat” of Project 365 Sketches by Ivan Chew

Ivan Chew aka The Rambling Librarian sketches the “Angry Civet Cat” (#143: Project 365 Sketches) for his cute Angry Animal series this week!

 

Ivan wrote,

“Angry Civet Cat” (#143: Project 365 Sketches) 2013, Wed 23 May. As I was looking up Civet Cat pictures, I couldn’t help but associate those cute faces with Raccoons. Must be the black band across their eyes. Here’s an angry Civet Cat, looking indignant because of unscrupulous practices in harvesting “civet cat coffee”. #365sketches [CC-BY]”

Indeed, some members of the public have mistaken the common palm civet as the raccoon as they both have the characteristic eye masks across their eyes. We would then remind them that we do not have raccoons in Singapore and share some of the differences between the two animals! The common palm civet has three stripes along its back, spots on its sides and a long black tail which is as long as its body, sometimes with a white tip. Interestingly, although these two animals are found in different geographical locations, and are hardly related except that they are both in the Order Carnivora, both animals have managed to adapt to urban areas and thus face conflict issues with humans.

With the popularisation of Kopi Luwak (coffee made from coffee beans in civet poop), civet poop coffee may be threatening wild species of civets in the region. There have been increasing concerns regarding this trade as wild civets are being captured from wild, placed in small cages (civet farms), and are fed with coffee cherries only so that they excrete coffee beans used to make Kopi Luwak.

While fortunately, we do not have civet farms in Singapore, the common palm civet still faces other threats such as trapping, loss of habitats, being killed by dogs and being hit by cars. Hopefully, more people will embrace this native urban survivor, along with many of our other amazing wildlife, and we will have happy animals and people living in Singapore!

Do check out the many other drawings Ivan did as part of his Project 365 Sketches at http://myrightbrain.wordpress.com/.

Thank you Ivan for this awesome sketch!

Update (2 March 2014):

For more information on the trade of kopi luwak, please watch the BBC documentary “Our World Coffee’s Cruel Secret – Kopi Luwak” and find out what goes into a cup of civet coffee.

If you wish to do something for the civets, please visit Project LUWAK Singapore and show your support!

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