Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Viverrids living near villages occasionally kill poultry.
Viverra tangalunga is one of the sources of Civet. Civet is used commercially in producing perfumes. Trade in live civets for their musk is a source of economy. It has also been used for some medicinal purposes. Some viverrids, including the Oriental civet, may be tamed and kept to extract this musk.
(Nowak 1983, Kitchener 1993)
Oriental civets are strong hunters. They will kill small mammals, birds, snakes, frogs, and insects. They will also eat eggs, fruit, and have been observed eating some roots. A similar Viverra species, Viverra zibetha has been found fishing in India. (Nowak 1983)
The oriental civet, Viverra tangalunga, also known as the Malay civet, is found on the Malay peninsula, and on the islands of Sumatra, Bangka, Borneo, the Rhio Archipelago,and the Phillipines. It has been introduced to many other Southeast Asian islands. (Nowak 1983, Kitchener 1993)
Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native )
Oriental civets live in a wide variety of habitats like forest, brush, and grasslands. They stay in the dense cover by day and come into the open at night. They are mainly terrestrial, although they can climb trees easily if necessary. They have been found in disturbed areas of montane forests near villages.
(Nowak 1983, Kitchener 1993)
Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 12.0 years.
V. tangalunga measures 585 to 950 mm in head and body length; tail length is 300 to 482 mm. Coloration is composed of black spots on a background of tawny or grayish body color. There are usually three black and two white collars on the sides of the neck and throat. The fur is long and loose, and usually elongated along the spinal area forming a low crest or mane. This mane is marked by a black stripe running from the shoulders to the tail. The tail is also banded with black and white. The feet of the Oriental civet are all black. Viverra have five toes on each foot. On the third and fourth digit of the forefeet are lobes of skin which sheath and protect their retractile claws. The dental formula is I 3/3 C 1/1 PM 3-4/3-4 M 1-2/1-2. (Nowak 1983)
Range mass: 5 to 11 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
A female Oriental civet may have one to four young per litter two times per year. The young are born in dense vegetation or in holes in the ground. Their eyes are closed at birth, but they do have hair. Weaning begins at approximately one month. Female viverrids have two or three pairs of abdominal mammae. Male viverrids have a baculum. The lifespan of the Oriental civet is probably around 5-15 years. (Nowak 1983)
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual
Average number of offspring: 2.
The Malayan civet (Viverra tangalunga), also known as the Malay civet and Oriental civet, is a viverrid native to the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Bangka, Borneo, the Riau Archipelago, and the Philippines. It is listed as "Least Concern" by IUCN as it is a relatively widely distributed, appears to be tolerant of degraded habitats, and occurs in a number of protected areas.[1]
Viverra tangalunga was the scientific name proposed by John Edward Gray in 1832 for a spotted zoological specimen.[2]
The Malay civet's tail is black above and ringed on the lower side.[3]
The historical range of the Malay civet includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Singapore. In Malaysia, it occurs in Borneo, Banggi Island, Langkawi Island, Penang Island and in Peninsular Malaysia.[4] It also occurs in Sumatra.[5] It was introduced to Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands.[1] Museum records indicate that the Malay civet also occurred on the Indonesian islands of Java, Bawal and Telok Pai, and on the Philippine island Leyte.[6] In 2012, an individual was photographed in Singapore.[7] The Malay civet population in the Philippines may have originated in Borneo and colonized Palawan island naturally. It possibly later dispersed to the rest of Philippines through human introduction, because land connection between Philippines islands did not exist during last glacial period.[8]
The Malay civet inhabits a wide variety of habitats including forests, secondary habitats, cultivated land and the outskirts of villages.[9]
Malay civets are solitary, omnivorous, and primarily terrestrial.[10]
Densities of Malay civets are higher in unlogged than in a logged forests. Fruit comprises a larger proportion of diet in unlogged forest compared to logged forest. With fruit contributing a larger percentage of the diet in unlogged forests, logging may lead to increased competition by other frugivores such as palm civets which may exploit fruit directly on trees unlike the mainly terrestrial Malay civet.[11] Around the Malaysian Bera Lake Malay civets were found in logged forest. Arboreal, frugivorous civets are little affected by logging, whereas terrestrial, carnivorous or insectivorous species might be negatively impacted by logging.[12]
As a ground-living species it is exposed to snaring and other forms of ground-level trapping, and hunting with dogs. The limited survey in areas heavily used by people suggests it is rather well able to persist at general levels of threat. The species is occasionally hunted for food and treated as a pest as it raids poultry.[1]
In Borneo, the Malayan civet is negatively affected by the effects of timber harvesting.[13]
Viverra tangalunga is protected in Malaysia under the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) of 1972.[1] However, in many rural areas of Peninsular Malaysia civets are considered a pest because they prey on small livestock and raid fruit orchards. Section 55 of the WPA of 1972 allows farmers to shoot any wild animal that causes damage to their property, as long as reasonable efforts have been made to frighten the animal away.[14]
The Malayan civet (Viverra tangalunga), also known as the Malay civet and Oriental civet, is a viverrid native to the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Bangka, Borneo, the Riau Archipelago, and the Philippines. It is listed as "Least Concern" by IUCN as it is a relatively widely distributed, appears to be tolerant of degraded habitats, and occurs in a number of protected areas.
