Asian Palm Civet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Paradoxurus hermaphroditus (Pallas, 1777) |
The Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), also known as the Common Palm Civet or the Toddy Cat, is a cat-sized mammal in the family Viverridae native to south-east Asia and southern China.
The Asian Palm Civet is a nocturnal omnivore. Its primary food source is fruit such as chiku, mango, and rambutan. It also has a fondness for palm flower sap, which when fermented, becomes toddy, a sweet liquor. It inhabits forests, parks and suburban gardens with mature fruit trees, fig trees and undisturbed vegetation. Its species name comes from the fact that both sexes have scent glands underneath the tail that resemble testicles. It can spray a noxious secretion from these glands. Its sharp claws allow it to climb trees and house gutters.
Chelonia suggests that the SARS virus entered the human population from palm civets captured in the wild and improperly prepared for human consumption.
In Sri Lanka, the palm civet is known as "Uguduwa" by the Sinhala speaking community. In most parts of the island, Uguduwa becomes a menace to the people due to fact that they litter in ceilings and attics of common households, and then make loud noises at night disturbing the sleep of the inhabitants of the house (noises are mostly due to their movements and fights).
Kopi Luwak is coffee that is prepared using coffee cherries that have been eaten by the animal, partially digested, and harvested from its feces.
This species lives in a habitat that is fast diminishing.
[edit] References
- ^ Mustelid Specialist Group (1996). Paradoxurus hermaphroditus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
