Category Archives: urban civet

Looking back on the past 5 years

Posted on by

Perhaps, since our homeland is turning 50 today, it is a good time to look back on where we have come so far in the last five years of research on and outreach efforts for the common palm civets of Singapore. As Singapore celebrates her golden jubilee, we recognize and appreciate the growth and development that this country has been through since its independence.

It is heartwarming to know that despite the extensive efforts to advance into a more urban landscape, our late former Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, did not disregard the importance of having a good proportion of green in our environment too. In 1963, he planted a Mempat tree in Farrer Circus to kickstart the greening campaign of Singapore. This increase in greenery has led to more experiences with our local wildlife, which we are always striving to understand more about. In our case, it’s the common palm civets.

Our civet research work officially started in 2009, when Weiting devoted her honours thesis to better understand the growing human-civet conflict in the Siglap/Opera estate area. As a result of her study, we were able to learn how the civets have managed to adapt to urban landscapes and live amongst humans. A year later, Tze Kwan began her study to identify some key elements of the civet’s diet through the analysis of their poop, which allowed us to have a better understanding of the effect of the digestive process of their gut on seed germination and the role that civets play in urban landscapes.

The research findings have also allowed us to share with many other people, adults and children alike, more about the civets. Many of whom are surprised to find that the civets not only exist in Singapore, but are also native to the country and many parts of Southeast Asia too. Besides people, the knowledge gained has also helped civets (both locally and regionally), be it babies in need of rescue or those in conflict with humans. The support and encouragement that we receive for the work that we do have been great, and in turn we have been provided avenues to conduct educational walks, talks, and present at roadshow booths. Not only have we managed to educate, but we’ve also inspired, encouraging those that we speak to to be kind to our native civets.

Many have also come forward to share their sightings and civet encounters with us, which we are always enthused to hear about. Here are just some of our favourites:

craigwilliamsThis was shared with us two months ago by Craig Williams, who was lucky enough to spot one of these elusive creatures during his night walk.

aaronkeddie

A civet spotted by Aaron Keddie, just outside his bedroom window! Civets are extremely shy creatures, so they’ll be more surprised than you are if you manage to catch them off guard!

clarehaxbyClare Haxby shared this photo of an adorable civet hiding in her house 2 years ago. The civet was lactating then, and the babies she had then are most probably full-grown civets now.

sallycashman

This is a baby civet that was found back in 2013 by Sally Cashman. It had fallen out of its nest on Christmas Eve, and if not for Sally’s effort and care, it wouldn’t have been able to reunite with its family the very next day.

Evidently, the existence of the civet as one of Singapore’s last wild urban carnivores has been celebrated by many, though not all. And even today the civets still face a fair amount of hostility from the human residents that they encounter based on the number of traps that they innocently wander into. While traps are commonly used to remove unwanted pests from the home, they are also a direct threat to our local wildlife and should not be encouraged.

Read more about the dangers of trapping in our next post. In the meantime, have a great jubilee weekend. Happy birthday Singapore, and a wonderful National Day to everyone!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Civet Rescue at Strathmore Avenue

Posted on by

Civet Article

This article was published in Lian He Wan Bao on the 20th of May, 2015. We have included a translation below, and are at the same time relieved that the civet managed to be returned back to the forest safely. Thank you so much ACRES, especially Anbu and Kalai (the wildlife rescue team on duty that day) for always being so enthusiastic and passionate about your work. Thank you for keeping our native civets safe too.

 

CIVET CAPTURED AFTER A HALF­HOUR STRUGGLE

Reported by Daryl Lim for Lianhe Wanbao, 20th May 2015

A common palm civet was trapped in a house in Queenstown for two hours, unable to descend after having climbed up the sewage pipes. The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) rushed to the scene upon receiving the news, and thus began a relentless half­-an-­hour chase for the civet until it was finally forced into a dead corner and trapped in a cage.

 

The civet – which caused a great deal of chaos in the neighbourhood – appeared on 55 Strathmore Avenue at approximately 9.45 p.m. yesterday night. Resident Huang Zhen Shun (80 years old) then called and notified Lianhe Wanbao after witnessing the civet’s appearance.

Huang Zhen Shun said that he was speaking with a group of friends on the ground floor of the house when he saw a dark shadow dash across the road suddenly, right before their eyes. He said, “Its movements are extremely fast, and we quickly followed to check what it was. We didn’t expect that it turned out to be a common palm civet. We didn’t chase it for long before it climbed up the sewage pipes.”

Upon arriving at the scene, the reporter found the civet sitting on the sewage pipe that was 3 metres high. Furthermore, it looked relaxed with its long tail dangling mid­air.

The civet is believed to be an adult one, measuring at about 2 metres in length inclusive of its tail.

Huang Zhen Shun said that the civet stayed on the sewage pipe for nearly 2 hours after climbing up, refusing to come down. It looked timid and did not seem like it was aggressive. “I suspect that it was illegally kept as a pet by someone, but had managed to escape successfully.”

After arriving at the scene, 2 staff members from ACRES first climbed up an aluminium ladder, hoping to carry the civet down. They also tried to lead it to jump into an already set­up trap, but the civet was extremely quick and intelligent and managed to avoid it. Eventually it managed to jump back onto the floor and ran towards the house’s walkway.

The staff members pursued, and finally managed to force the civet into a dead corner.

Having no other possible escape route, the civet began to resist capture and tried to put up a fight, struggling against the ACRES staff members for nearly half-­an-­hour before it was finally caught and kept in a cage.

 

The civet will be returned to the forest after capture.

Civets are not uncommon in Singapore, and are neither threatening nor aggressive towards humans. Wild civets found to have trespassed onto human property will be released into the forest after being caught. After news of the civet’s appearance spread, countless residents came forward to observe the scene. Some even took photos as a form of keepsake memento. Some older residents commented that they have not come across wild civets since after leaving the kampungs. Louis Ng, the director of ACRES, expressed that civets are nocturnal animals that live in the forest and feed on fruits and insects. They will not deliberately cause any harm to nor threaten the safety of people. “Should the public come across a civet, do not panic, and also do not use flashlights on them. After being rescued by ACRES, the civets will be released back into the forest.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email