Common palm civet

Bearing the face of a raccoon, the ears of a cat and the tail of a monkey, this species is also called the toddy cat for its apparent fondness for fermented palm fruit, which is used to make palm wine or toddy.

In the Malay language, it is known as ‘musang’ (meaning ‘weasel’) but it is neither weasel nor cat. Like other members of the civet family, it has a pair of stink glands near the base of its tail from which it secretes a foul-smelling liquid when threatened.

Kopi Luwak is an expensive gourmet coffee made from the beans of coffee berries that have been eaten and passed out by palm civets. The undigested beans excreted by the civets are collected, washed and made into the coveted coffee.

A single cup of Kopi Luwak may cost as much as $50! Unfortunately, growing demand has resulted in cruel practices on civet coffee farms. The civets are housed in crammed cages and fed nothing but coffee beans. Please say no to Kopi Luwak.

Adapted for forest living but tolerant of human presence, this species is often found in areas near people. The Siglap and Opera Estate area in Singapore is a ‘musang magnet’, probably due to the large number of fruit trees planted by residents in the largely private residential areas.

The civets have been sighted at dawn, dusk and the wee hours of the morning; walking across power cables, trampling across rooftops and even making their way into residents' attics.

Irate residents who have caught the civets feasting off their fruit trees consider these ‘masked bandits’ a nuisance. Some have resorted to trapping them.

Trapped civets may sustain serious injuries while trying to escape, or end up trapped for days before they are handed over to the local authorities and sent to our Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre (WHRC), Singapore’s official Rescued Wildlife Centre.