We recently received a query from Tusita, who has found a baby civet which was only palm-sized, excluding its tail, in Sri Lanka. The baby has just opened its eyes and Tusita has been feeding it milk several times a day and he even had to wake up at 4 am to feed the hungry baby! Tusita asked how would one know when to start feeding the baby civet fruit pulp such as papaya and apples, so we shared that baby civets generally start to take fruits when their eyes are opened.

According to Tusita, he and his dog found the civet baby through its loud calls and saw it lying at the foot of a large tree in the morning . He estimated that the nest would have been at least 10m tall and was amazed that it survived the fall. He quickly took it away for fear that a dog, macaque, mongoose or even a snake would get to it. For this same reason, he felt that putting the baby back to where it was at night was not feasible due to the presence of other animals, so he will be taking care of it until it is ready to be released back to the wild.

Check out the baby’s white-tipped tail, and the three stripes on its back, a typical characteristic of the common palm civet. It is starting to have its characteristic black facial appearance too!

We are glad that Tusita is providing care for this young baby and is dedicated to raising and returning it to the wild. We hope you will grow up strong and healthy, cute little fella!