Large Indian Civet (Viverra zibetha) lives in tropical rainforest across Southeast Asia. It feeds on fruits and insects. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Large Indian Civet
- The large Indian civet is the biggest member of its genus, surpassing all other Viverra species and only smaller than African civets and binturongs. Adults measure between 50 cm and 95 cm in head-and-body length, while the tail adds another 38 cm to 59 cm. Their weight normally ranges from 3.4 kg to 9.2 kg, with occasional reports of individuals reaching about 11 kg in captivity. This size gives them a powerful build for hunting a wide range of prey on the ground.
- In China the wild population of the large Indian civet has collapsed dramatically, falling by 94 % to 99 % since the 1950s. The loss is linked to extensive deforestation and intense hunting for its fur, musk glands used in medicine and the perfume industry. By the 1990s the species was confined to the northern part of Guangdong Province, and surveys between 1998 and 2008 failed to record any individuals on Hainan Island.
- Radio-tracking studies in Thailand showed that individual animals maintain home ranges from 2.7 km² up to 8.8 km².
- The large Indian civet can inhabit surprisingly high elevations, with a confirmed record at 2,250 m in the Nepalese Himalayas. Its overall range stretches from Nepal and northeast India through Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Singapore to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China.
- The large Indian civet is legally protected in Hong Kong under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170, yet it has not been observed in a natural state there since the 1970s. Because no wild individuals have been recorded for decades, the species is regarded as extirpated from the region.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSoutheast Asia
HabitatTropical rainforest
DietFruits and insects
About the Large Indian Civet
In the dappled shadows of the Asian forest, the large Indian civet moves with a sinuous, almost feline, grace, its distinctive coat a mosaic of brown and yellow fur that blends seamlessly into the underbrush. As it pads silently through the undergrowth, its bushy tail twitching with every snap of a twig, this enigmatic creature embodies the very essence of nocturnal stealth, a solitary and elusive hunter that roams the forest night with an air of quiet confidence. With its powerful limbs and sharp claws, the large Indian civet is a master of its domain, a remarkable and resourceful predator that has thrived in this realm for millennia.
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