Malabar Civet
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The Malabar Civet (Viverra civettina) is a civet belonging to the family Viverridae. Once common along the lowland coastal tracts of Western Ghats of Kerala and Karnataka of South India, the species became rare even by the turn of this century. Listed as Criticially Endangered by the IUCN, the species has never been photographed. The major threat facing isolated populations that have managed to survive in marginal habitats is changing cash crop practices and accidental hunting with dogs. Called Jawad in Malayalam, the local language of Kerala, the species is reportedly difficult to maintain in captivity for extracting civet, a secretion from anal glands of all civets that is used in oriental medicine and flavouring 'beedis' (local cigarettes). A distinguishing feature of this small dog-sized civet is the presence of a crest of black erectile hair on the back, running from its shoulder to the tip of the tail. It feeds possibly on small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes and birds. Like most species of civets, Malabar civet is terrestrial and nocturnal.
Trivia
There is a proverb in Malayalam - "The civet as companion to anteater" - to refer to two people, timid, useless, secretive and in constant company.References
- Mustelid Specialist Group (1996). [Viverra civettina]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR C2a v2.3)
External links
- http://www.wii.gov.in/envis/envisdec99/malabarcivet.htm
- http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=23036
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