Civets of the Duars of West Bengal, India

1. Wild Civet of duars (Series: XII a)
Tusar Kanti Ghosal M.Sc Ph.D Email: drtkghosal@gmail.com
Dated: 19.11.2018

2. Civets or Genets
Viverridae is a family of small to medium-sized
Mammals, the viverrids , comprising 15 genera,
which are subdivided into 38 species. This family
was named and first described by John Edward Gray
in 1821. Members of this family are commonly
called civets or genets. Viverrids are found in South
East Asia, across the Wallace Line, all over Africa,
and into Southern Europe. Their occurrence in
Sulawesi and in some of the adjoining islands shows
them to be ancient inhabitants of theOld World
Tropic.

3. Viverrid Civet of Indian sub-continent
Scientific clasification
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Viverridae
Subfamilies and Genera
Hemigalinae: Hemigalu, Chrotogale, Cynogale, Diplogale
Paradoxurinae: Arcticti, Arctogalidia, Macrogalidia, Paguma, Paradoxurus
Prionodontinae: Prionodon linssang, Prionodon pardicolor
Viverrinae: Civettictis, Genetta, Poiana, Viverra, Viverricula

4. Common Name: Asian palm civet, Common palm civet, Toddy cat.
Scientific Name: Paradoxurus hermaphroditus ( Pallas, 1777)
Bengali Name: Khatash, Bham, Bham Beral, Mohul
Asian Palm Civet is one of the small species of viverrid, native to India and Southeast
Asia. The Asian palm civet has very broad range of habitats and hunted for bush meat.
Source.

5. Asian Palm Civet
Notes:
* Though its taxonomic status has not still been evaluated, 30 different kinds of
subspecies have been described between 1820 and 1992.
* The animal has an affinity for palm flower sap that ferments into a sweet liquor –
‘toddy’. Hence they are also called the ‘Toddy Cat’.
* The palm civets have the ability to distinguish between animal species, gender, and
familiar/unfamiliar individuals by the odor of the perineal gland secretion.
* Like many people mistake, the Asian Palm Civet is technically neither a cat nor a
monkey (though they are often colloquially called ‘cat’).
• In parts of India, these animals are killed for their meat to extract a kind of
processed oil used indigenously as a cure for scabies.
• The Asian palm civets are popular for aiding in the production of the world’s most
expensive coffee, the ‘Kopi Luwak’ or ‘Gourmet Civet Coffee’, sold for up to over one
$100/pound in the world market.
• They are also known since ages for their sweet-smelling musk, which is still used for
the production of expensive perfumes.
• The scent glands in their anus emit a nauseating secretion, which is a chemical
defense used when upset or threatened

6. Common Name: Large Indian civet
Scientific name: Viverra zibetha Linn. 1758
Sub-species of Duars: Viverra zibetha zibetha (L. 1758)
Bengali Name : Mecho-vondor, Bagdasa, Khatash
Ditribution: Northeast India, Duars of India, Bangladesh to Myanamar, Bhutan, Nepal,
Thailand, malay, and Singapore to Cambodia, Laos, Viettnam and China.

7. Common Name: Small Indian Civet
Scientific Name: Viverricula indica Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803
Sub-species of Duars: Viverricula indica paptisstae (Pocock,1933)
Bengali Name: Gandhogokul, Sorel, Sagor Khatash, Bham
Small Indian Civet occurs in most of India and adapted different living conditions such as
grassland,scrub and agricultural areas. V. i. baptistæ (Pocock, 1933)- ranges from Bhutan and
Upper Bengal to Assam.

8. Common Name: Masked Palm Civet, Himalayan palm civet
Scientific Name: Paguma larvata (Hamilton-Smith, 1827)
Masked Palm Civet is one of the smaller species of civet, found throughout the jungles of the Indian
sub-continent. The masked palm civet is regarded as a single species and hunting for bushmeat. he
masked palm civet is distributed from the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, especially the
Himalaya, ranging eastwards across Bhutan, Bangladesh,Andaman and Nicober Island of India,
Mynamar,, Thailand, Malayassia,, Laos, Combodia, Borneo, Sumatra, taiwan, Japan, Vietnam to China.

9. Brown Palm Civet
Brown Palm Civet species is endemic to the rain forests of
Western Ghats in South India, mostly appear in Kalakkad
Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. The brown palm civet nocturnal
animal, spend most of day on tree eating fruits and lianas.

10. Malabar Large Spotted Civet
Malabar Large Spotted Civet is listed as critically endangered species of
viverrid, endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The Malabar civet are one of
the largest species of civet found in world.

11. Binturong or bearcat
Binturong or bearcat is a viverrid species found only in hills of North east and
recorded only in Manas National Park in Assam. Pakke Tiger Reserve of
Arunachal Pradesh is another place where Binturong species found in India.

12. Musky scent used in perfumery
A civet is a small, lithe-bodied, mostly
nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and
Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet
applies to over a dozen different mammal species.
Most of the species diversity is found in southeast
Asia. The best-known civet species is the African
civet, Civettictis civetta, which historically has been
the main species from which was obtained a musky
scent used in perfumery. The word civet may also
refer to the distinctive musky scent produced by the
animals.

13. Musk scent used in perfumery
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used in
perfunery.
They include glandular secretions from animals such as the Muk
deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial
substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given
to a substance with a strong odor obtained from a gland of the
musk deer. The substance has been used as a popular perfume
fixative since ancient times and is one of the most expensive
animal product. The deer gland was thought to resemble a
scrotum. It is applied to various plants and animals of similar
smell and has come to encompass a wide variety of aromatic
substances with similar odors, despite their often differing
chemical structures and molecular shapes.

14. Other animals produce musky scent
Siberian musk deer: Moschus moschiferus
Muskrat: Ondatra zibethicus (a rodent native to North Ameriaca)
Musk duck: Biziura lobata (southern Autralia)
Musk beetle: Aromia moschata
Musk turtle: Sternotherus odoratus
Musk : Lungurion (American alligator of North America)
And Muskox, Musk shrew etc.

15. REFERENCES
Blanford, W.T. (1888–91). Fauna of British India. Mammalia. Taylor and Francis,
London. pp. 111–112.
Pocock, R.I. (1933). "The Palm Civets or 'Toddy Cats' of the
genera Paradoxurus and Paguma inhabiting British India". Journal of the
Bombay Natural History Society. 36: 856–877.
Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). Order Carnivora. In Wilson D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammals
specie of the world: A taxonomic and geographic references (3rd Ed.). Johns
Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628.
Mudappa, D. (2006). "Day-bed choice by the brown palm civet (Paradoxurus
jerdoni) in the Western Ghats, India". Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 71 (4):
238–243.
Choudhury, A.; Duckworth, J.W.; Timmins, R.; Chutipong, W.; Willcox, D.H.A.;
Rahman, H.; Ghimirey, Y. & Mudappa, D. (2015). Viverricula indica. The IUCN Red
Lit of Threatened species. IUCN. 2015
Timmins, R.J.; Duckworth, J.W.; Chutipong, W.; Ghimirey, Y.; Willcox, D.H.A.;
Rahman, H.; Long, B. & Choudhury, A. (2016). Viverricula indica. The IUCN Red
Lit of Threatened species. IUCN. 2016

16. Published: 19.11.2018