| Large Indian civet | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Viverridae |
| Genus: | Viverra |
| Species: | V. zibetha |
| Binomial name | |
| Viverra zibetha | |
 | |
| Large Indian civet range | |
Thelarge Indian civet (Viverra zibetha) is aviverrid native toSouth andSoutheast Asia. It is listed asleast concern on theIUCN Red List. The global population is thought to be decreasing due to hunting and trapping driven by the demand forbushmeat.[1]
The large Indian civet is grey or tawny and has a black spinal stripe running from behind the shoulders to the root of the tail. The front of the muzzle has a whitish patch emphasized by blackish behind on each side. The chin and fore throat are blackish. The sides and lower surface of the neck are banded with black stripes and white spaces in between. The tail has a variable number of complete black and white rings. Itsclaws are retractable. The soles of the feet are hairy.[3]
As indicated by its common name, this is a relatively large civet, almost certainly the largest of theViverra species and exceeded in size among the Viverridae family only byAfrican civets andbinturongs. Its head-and-body length ranges from 50–95 cm (20–37 in) with a 38–59 cm (15–23 in) long tail. The hind foot measures 9–14.5 cm (3.5–5.7 in). Its weight ranges from 3.4–9.2 kg (7.5–20.3 lb). Some sources claim the species can weigh up to 11 kg (24 lb) (though possibly attained in captivity).[4][5][6]
The large Indian civet ranges fromNepal, northeastIndia,Bhutan,Bangladesh toMyanmar,Thailand, theMalay Peninsula andSingapore toCambodia,Laos,Vietnam andChina.[1]
In Nepal, the large Indian civet was recorded up to 2,250 m (7,380 ft) in theHimalayas.[7]
In China, the wild large Indian civet population declined drastically by 94–99% since the 1950s following deforestation, due to hunting for the fur trade, use of its musk glands as medicine and for theperfume industry.[4] By the 1990s, it was largely confined to the north ofGuangdong Province in southern China, but has not been recorded inHainan Island during surveys between 1998 and 2008.[8]
The large Indian civet issolitary andnocturnal. It spends most of the time on the ground. It is an opportunistic hunter that preys on a wide variety of small animals.[1]
Radio-tracked large Indian civets in Thailand had home ranges of 2.7 to 8.8 km2 (1.0 to 3.4 sq mi).[9]
Viverra zibetha is aprotected species inHong Kong under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170, though it has not been recorded in a natural state in Hong Kong since the 1970s, and is consideredextirpated.[10]
Viverra zibetha was thescientific name for the large Indian civet introduced byCarl Linnaeus in 1758.[11]Several naturalists proposed species and subspecies in the 19th and 20th centuries, of which the following were recognised asvalid subspecies by 2005:[12]
