Threatened Wild Animal Palm Civet found dead near Bus-Stand
Sangrah, Himachal Pradesh. The rare animal was crushed by an unknown Vehicle
on 25th of March, 2013 in the morning. Threatened species Palm Civet
is known as Aam-Kat and Losa in Sangrah area. The Forest Department has no
data about the endurance of Palm Civets. Existence of this threaten species
is in endanger, due to the negligence of department and poaching. The common
palm civet is found from the Himalayas and southern China, to the
Philippines, the Malay peninsula, and the Indonesian islands. It is a highly
adaptive animal and can live
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in dense forests, agricultural areas, and even
alongside human dwellings. Weighing from 4 to 11 pounds, the palm civet's
head and body length is 17 to 28 inches (43.2-71 cm), with a tail length of
16 to 26 inches (40.6-66 cm). Its ears are small and faintly pointed, as is
its nose. It has a long and slender body with short legs. They have a coarse
grayish to brown coat with black-tipped guard hairs over all. Three rows of
black spots run along each side of its body. The hair around its eyes, cheeks
and muzzle is black, with spots of white under each eye and on each side of
its nose. The ears, feet and last end of its tail are also black. Both sexes
have well-developed anal scent glands looking somewhat like testes, which
gives the musang its species name. A nocturnal omnivore, the palm civet hunts
alone. They are expert climbers and spend most of their lives in trees. They
eat small vertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds. They are very fond of
palm sap, therefore their common name. The sap is used by natives to make a
sweet liquor called "toddy", which gives the palm civet its other
common name. The palm civet is also fond of coffee cherries. They eat the
outer fruit and the coffee beans pass through their digestive tract. An
expensive coffee called kopi luwak is supposedly made from these coffee
beans. Kopi luwak is said to have a gamy flavor and sells for more than $100
per pound. Palm civets stake out territories which often overlap during times
of adequate food supply. When spending time in one area, musangs will use the
same tree to sleep in during the day. Plam civets reproduce throughout the
year although it has been recorded that kittens are most often seen from
October to December. Kittens are born in a litter of 2 to 5 young. Palm
civets become sexually mature at 11 to 12 months. In captivity the common
palm civet can live up to 22 years. The common palm civet disperses seeds of
the trees on which it feeds by eating the seed pulp and passing the seeds well
away from its parent tree. Although not much is known about the palm civet,
it is believed that its nocturnal habit was developed to avoid predators. It
is plentiful in its natural range and is not endangered.
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