Otter civet

The otter civet (Cynogale bennettii) is a semiaquatic viverrid native to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. It is believed to be undergoing severe population decline due to habitat destruction and is classified as an endangered species by the IUCN Red List.^[1]

Otter civet
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Viverridae
Genus:	Cynogale Gray, 1836[2]
Species:	C. bennettii
Binomial name
Cynogale bennettii Gray, 1836[2]
Otter civet range

Cynogale is a monospecific genus.^[3]

Characteristics

Skull and dentition, as illustrated in Gervais' Histoire naturelle des mammifères

The otter civet possesses webbed feet, which is an adaptation to its aquatic habitat.^{[citation needed]} Its long, stiff whiskers may be used for foraging.^[4]

Museum specimen

Distribution and habitat

Otter civets are distributed in Sumatra, Borneo and peninsular Thailand. Lowland primary forest is apparently the ideal habitat for the species, although it is also known to occur in secondary forest. Their presence in northern Vietnam is uncertain.^[5] They are believed to prefer peat swamp forests, but been sighted at low elevations in tropical dry forests.^[4]

In March 2005, an otter civet was photographed by a camera trap within an acacia plantation in central Sarawak during 1,632 trap-nights.^[6] Between July 2008 and January 2009, ten otter civets were photographed in an area of about 112 km² (43 sq mi) in Sabah's Deramakot Forest Reserve, a lowland tropical rainforest in Borneo ranging in altitude from 60–250 m (200–820 ft).^[7] In May 2009, the presence of otter civets was documented for the first time in central Kalimantan, where two individuals were photographed in the Sabangau Peat-swamp Forest at an elevation of about 11 m (36 ft).^[8]

Ecology and behaviour

The otter civet is a nocturnal species that obtains most of its food from the water, feeding on fish, crabs and freshwater mollusks. It can also climb to feed on birds and fruit. Given its rarity and secretive nature it is a very poorly known species.^[1]

Threats

The otter civet is threatened by habitat destruction – specifically, the destruction of peat swamp forests to make way for oil palm plantations. It is sometimes caught in snares intended to catch other species.^[1][5]

Conservation

Cynogale bennettii is listed in CITES Appendix II.^[1]

References

1. Ross, J.; Wilting, A.; Ngoprasert, D.; Loken, B.; Hedges, L.; Duckworth, J.W.; Cheyne, S.; Brodie, J.; Chutipong, W.; Hearn, A.; Linkie, M.; McCarthy, J.; Tantipisanuh, N. & Haidir, I.A. (2015). "Cynogale bennettii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T6082A45197343. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T6082A45197343.en. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
2. Gray, J.E. (1836). "Characters of some new species of Mammalia in the Society's collection". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Part IV (October): 87–88.
3. Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Genus Cynogale". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 552. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
4. Sebastian, A. C. (2005). "Sighting of a Sunda Otter Civet Cynogale bennettii in Sarawak". Small Carnivore Conservation. 33: 24–25.
5. Veron, G.; Gaubert, P.; Franklin, N.; Jennings, A. P. & Grassman Jr., L. I. (2006). "A reassessment of the distribution and taxonomy of the Endangered otter civet Cynogale bennettii (Carnivora: Viverridae) of South-east Asia". Oryx. 40 (1): 42–49. doi:10.1017/S0030605306000068.
6. Giman, B.; Stuebing, R.; Megum, N.; Mcshea, W. J. & Stewart, C. M. (2007). "A camera trapping inventory for mammals in a mixed use planted forest in Sarawak" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 55: 209–215. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
7. Wilting, A.; Samejima, H. & Mohamed, A. (2010). "Diversity of Bornean viverrids and other small carnivores in Deramakot Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia" (PDF). Small Carnivore Conservation. 42: 10–13.
8. Cheyne, S. M.; Husson, S. J. & Macdonald, D. W. (2010). "First Otter Civet Cynogale bennettii photographed in Sabangau Peat-swamp Forest, Indonesian Borneo" (PDF). Small Carnivore Conservation. 42: 25–26.

• Kanchanasakha, B. (1998). Carnivores of Mainland South East Asia. WWF, Bangkok. ISBN 974-89438-2-8

External links