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Malabar civet Viverra civettina Blyth, 1862

Distribution

The Malabar civet is endemic to the Western Ghats. It is mostly recorded from the coastal district of Western Ghats in southern India from Kanyakumari in the extreme south to Honnavar in Karnataka, in the north as far as Wayanad and Coorg (Pocock 1933, 1939, Corbet & Hill 1992). There are only two reports of its occurrence in the higher elevation of the Western Ghats, in the High Wavy Mountains (Hutton 1949) and Kudremukh (Karanth 1986). Recent report is from Elayur near Calicut, Kerala (Kurup 1989). For details see Kumar et al. Conservation Initiatives 2, this issue.

Description

It is a large civet, almost similar in size to the large Indian civet V. zibetha. Its exact measurement is not available. However, it is believed that an adult is around 1090 - 1250 mm long including tail which is around 330 to 400 mm and weighing up to 6.45 to 8 kg. The coat is long and full grey in colour. The body pattern is blackish and larger in size as compared to the little civet. The dorsal crest is black and prominent extending from neck up to the tip of the tail. The tail has five white rings, the last one being only about two inches from the tip.

Behaviour

The Malabar civet once inhabited the lowland forests in its range. In northern Kerala it appears to be confined to thickets in cashew plantations, and to highly degraded lowland forests (Ashraf et al. 1993). It is reported to be nocturnal and retreats to the scrub forests and cashew plantations during the day for shelter. From the recent surveys (see Kumar et al. Conservation Initiatives 2, this issue) concluded that the typical habitat of Malabar civet is lowland swamp and riparian forests in the coastal plain districts of Western Ghats. Little is known about its ecology and biology.

Conservation status

It is listed in Schedule I part I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Appendix I of CITES, CR C2a in IUCN Red List and CR A1bc during the CAMP Workshop.

| Introduction | Mustelids | Viverrids | Herpestids | 
| Conservation Significance | References |