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A civet () is a small, lean, mostly
nocturnal Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have ...
mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversity is found in southeast Asia. The best-known species is the African civet, ''Civettictis civetta'', which historically has been the main species from which a
musk Musk ( Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial s ...
y scent used in perfumery, also referred to as " civet", was obtained.


Naming

The common name is used for a variety of carnivoran mammal species, mostly of the
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Viverridae. The African palm civet (''Nandinia binotata'') is genetically distinct and belongs in its own monotypic family, Nandiniidae. Civets are also called "toddycats" in English, "Mara Patti" in
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
, "musang" in Malay and
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesia ...
, and ''urulǣvā'' () in
Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language prima ...
. There can be confusion among speakers of Malay because the indigenous word "musang" has been mistakenly applied to
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...
es by printed media instead of "rubah", which is the correct but lesser-known term. A minority of writers use "civet" to refer only to '' Civettictis'', '' Viverra'' and '' Viverricula'' civets. But in more common usage in English, the name also covers '' Chrotogale, Cynogale, Diplogale, Hemigalus, Arctogalidia, Macrogalidia, Paguma'' and '' Paradoxurus'' civets.


South Asia

In
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, the Asian palm civet species is known as "uguduwa" by the Sinhala-speaking community. The terms ''uguduwa'' and ''kalawedda'' are used interchangeably by the Sri Lankan community to refer to the same animal. However, the term kalawedda is mostly used to refer to another species in the civet family, the small Indian civet. Sri Lanka also has an endemic civet species called golden palm civet. Recently this species was split into 3 separate endemic species as '' Paradoxurus montanus'', '' P. aureus'', and '' P. stenocephalus''. In Bangladesh and Bengali-speaking areas of India, civets are known as "khatash" ( bn, খাটাশ) for the smaller species and "bagdash" ( bn, বাগডাশ) for the larger ones and is now extremely rare in Bangladesh (in the Khulna area of the country, the animal is also known as "shairel"). In Assamese this animal is known as "zohamola" (
Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...
: জহামলা) which literally means "to have zoha aromatic feces". In Maharashtra
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
-speaking areas of India, civets are known as "Udmanjar" ( mr, उदमांजर). In
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...
, the
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
speaking areas of
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) is called "veruk" (വെരുക്‌). Interestingly, 'veruku' (வெருகு) in Tamil meant 'cat', particularly during the Sangam period (~ 100 BCE to 400 CE).


Physical characteristics

Civets have a broadly cat-like general appearance, though the muzzle is extended and often pointed, rather like that of an otter,
mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to ...
or even possibly a ferret. They range in length from about (excluding their long tails) and in weight from about . The civet produces a
musk Musk ( Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial s ...
(named civet after the animal) which is highly valued as a fragrance and stabilizing agent for perfume. Both male and female civets produce the strong-smelling secretion, which is produced by the civet's perineal glands. It is harvested by either killing the animal and removing the glands, or by scraping the secretions from the glands of a live animal. The latter is the preferred method today. Animal rights groups, such as World Animal Protection, express concern that harvesting musk is cruel to animals. Between these ethical concerns and the availability of synthetic substitutes, the practice of raising civets for musk is dying out. Chanel, maker of the popular perfume Chanel No. 5, claims that natural civet has been replaced with a synthetic substitute since 1998.


Habitat

Viverrids are native to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, southern China, South and Southeast Asia. Favoured habitats include woodland, savanna, and mountain
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
. In consequence, many are faced with severe loss of habitat; several species are considered vulnerable and the otter civet is classified as endangered. Some species of civet are very rare and elusive and hardly anything is known about them, e.g., the Hose's civet,
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
to the montane forests of northern
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...
, is one of the world's least known carnivores.


Diet

Civets are unusual among feliforms, and carnivora in general, in that they are omnivores or even herbivores. Many species primarily eat fruit. Some also use flower nectar as a major source of energy. As human habitat has increased, civets tend to prey on livestock and smaller domesticated animals, such as fowls, ducks, rabbits, cats, etc.


Coffee

Kopi luwak (also called ''caphe cut chon'' (fox-dung coffee), in Vietnam, and ''kape alamid'', in the Philippines) is
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...
that is prepared using coffee cherries that have been eaten and partly digested by the Asian palm civet, then harvested from its fecal matter. The civets digest the flesh of the coffee cherries but pass the pits (beans) inside, where stomach enzymes affect the beans, which adds to the coffee's prized aroma and flavor. can cost up to $600 in some parts of the world and about $100 a cup in others. This demand has led to civet farms on which the civets are fed a diet composed almost exclusively of such cherries, causing them to become severely malnourished. Farm conditions are also routinely described as deplorable. Filipino and Vietnamese oversight of these farms is non-existent.


Relationship with humans

The Malay civet is found in many habitats, including forests, secondary habitats, cultivated land, and the outskirts of villages, and is highly adaptable to human disturbances, including "selective logging" (partial forest removal). African civets (''Civettictis civetta)'' are listed as Least Concern, but in certain regions of Africa the population is declining due to hunting, direct and indirect poisoning, and an increase in large-scale farm fences that limit population flow. They are also seen as comparatively abundant options in the
bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tro ...
trade. Palm civets sold for meat in local markets of China's Yunnan province carried the
SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, '' s ...
virus from horseshoe bats to humans, resulting in the
2002–2004 SARS outbreak The 2002–2004 outbreak of SARS, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), infected over 8,000 people from 29 countries and territories, and resulted in at least 774 deaths worldwide. The outbreak w ...
. Civets are also raised in captivity by humans for two reasons. In Asia, they are raised to process coffee beans. In Ethiopia, they are raised in captivity to collect their "civet" paste to be used in making perfume.


Urban environments

Palm civets often venture into
cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and suburbs, with people often complaining about civet faeces and the noise of the animals' climbing on roofs. Some studies have been undertaken to examine and mitigate such human–animal conflict.The great 'musang' stakeout
, ''Wild Singapore'', 2009.


Literature

in ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has ...
'', Act II scene 2, (William Shakespeare, 1599) the civet cat is mentioned as the "uncleanly" source of courtiers' perfumes.


References


External links


Raising Small Indian civet (Viverricula indica)
archive.org copy from website www.vietlinh.vn {{Carnivora, V. Viverrids Mammals of Africa Mammals of Asia Mammal common names