Little Indian civet
| Little Indian civet | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg)
Small Indian Civet Cat ( Viverricula indica ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Viverricula | ||||||||||||
| Hodgson , 1838 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Viverricula indica | ||||||||||||
| ( Desmarest , 1804) |
The small Indian civet cat or breed ( Viverricula indica ) is a species of predator from the family of the crawling cats (Viverridae).
description
It differs from the genus of the Asiatic civet cats ( Viverra ), in addition to details in the structure of the skull and the teeth, through its smaller size, the lack of a back mane and the more pointed snout. Their fur is gray-brown in color, black spots run along the trunk in stripes. The snout and legs are completely black, the tail is gray-black ringed. These animals reach a head body length of 45 to 63 centimeters, the tail becomes 30 to 43 centimeters long, and their weight is 2 to 4 kilograms.
distribution and habitat
Small Indian civets live in large parts of South and Southeast Asia , their natural range extends from India and Sri Lanka and southern China to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra , Java and Bali . The species was naturalized on Socotra , the Comoros , Madagascar and several Southeast Asian islands, among others . Their habitat are forests and grasslands with dense vegetation.
Way of life
These animals are generally nocturnal, although they sometimes hunt during the day in sparsely populated areas. To sleep, they withdraw into dense vegetation and sometimes into earthworks. They live primarily on the ground, but should be able to climb well. Outside of the mating season, they live solitary. They are territorial animals that mark their territory with the secretion of their perianal glands known as civet .
Small Indian civets are omnivores that consume small vertebrates, carrion and insects as well as fruits and roots.
Little is known about reproduction. The female gives birth to two to five young, which are hidden in an earthwork and weaned after around four to five months.
Small Indian civets and people
Like other representatives of the civet cats, the Indian small civet cat is kept to win civets . For this purpose it was also naturalized in some countries. Civet is used in the perfume industry , but it is increasingly being replaced by artificial substitutes.
Otherwise, these animals are widespread and are not endangered species.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
Web links
- Viverricula indica inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Duckworth, JW, Timmins, RJ & Muddapa, D., 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2013.