Paguma larvata

Paguma larvata (scientific name: Masked Palm Civet) is a carnivorous animal of the family Viverridae and the genus Paguma. It has 16 subspecies and is commonly known as the palm civet.

Paguma larvata lives in a family, often male and female, old and young, living in the same cave. They often move in pairs during the mating season. They are very good at climbing, and can climb and jump freely between branches with their nimble limbs and long tails, forage for tree fruits, and chase birds and squirrels. When frightened, they often jump down from the tree. If they are chased by hunting dogs, they will climb trees or escape into caves to hide. The flower-faced civet cat often moves and forages on trees. When they find ripe fruits, they often forage for them repeatedly, and they must come every night. There are spots of claw marks on the tree. There are often many feces with drupes on the branches and near the roots of the tree. The main food is various berries or drupes with sweet and sour taste, such as: various banyan fruits, neem fruits, evergreen oak fruits, as well as peaches, apricots, pears, lychees, longans, etc. In addition, they also prey on small animals. Stomach examinations found animal remains such as bird feathers, bird egg shells, pheasant claws, frogs, earthworms, snails, leeches, grasshoppers, etc.

The mating period of the civet cat is mostly from March to April each year, and the birth period is from May to June. Both sexes have a reduced appetite during the estrus period. The estrus period of females can last for 3-5 days. When the female is in estrus, she is very restless, and the mating method is similar to that of the large civet cat. However, the mating process of the civet cat is longer, taking about 2 minutes. During mating, the female makes a "chi chi" sound. It can mate many times, sometimes more than 20 times in a day. The interval between each mating is only 4-5 minutes. The gestation period is about 2 months. The female gives birth mostly at night. When giving birth, it often makes a "chi chi" sound, and each litter has 2-4 pups.

The shedding period of the civet cat's milk teeth begins around October of the year of birth. It will take until the autumn of the second year for permanent teeth to grow completely. Like most civets, they will reach sexual maturity in the late spring of the third year. The order of permanent teeth in the upper and lower jaws is similar to that of the palm civet. However, many individuals of the flower-faced civet may completely lack the second upper molars. The flower-faced civet can live 10-15 years in the zoo.

The fur of artificially raised flower-faced civets is thick and soft, and the ones with good board quality are top-grade. It is one of the major exported hides in China. The fur can be made into fur coats, fur hats, and gloves, and the needle hair can be made into brushes and pens. Medicinal parts: bones (Os Felis bengalensis), fat, and meat. Functions and indications: ① Civet bones: dispel rheumatism, strengthen muscles and bones, nourish and calm the mind; used to treat rheumatic joint pain. ② Fat: moisturizes the skin; used to treat skin chapped skin and burns. ③ Meat: nourishes and nourishes the skin.

In some areas, civets often steal fruits from orchards. In northern Sichuan, China, it is said that they can also harm corn and unflowered cotton bolls, but generally the harm is not great. Because they prey on rodents, they have the chance to be infected with plague. Plague F1 antibodies were detected in the serum of civets in Yunnan, China. On November 1, 2013, Science and Technology Daily reported that Shi Zhengli's research team at the Wuhan Institute of Virology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences isolated a SARS-like coronavirus (SARS-like CoV) that is highly homologous to the SARS virus, further confirming that the Chinese horseshoe bat is the source of the SARS virus. The research results were published online in Nature. [16] However, existing epidemiological evidence and bioinformatics analysis show that civets in the wildlife market are the direct source of the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Doesn't this contradict Shi Zhengli's report? How many sources of the SARS virus are there? After careful study, it was found that the civet cats in northern China did not carry SARS-like coronavirus (SARS-CoV), only in Guangdong, the civet cats carried this type of virus in the winter. This shows that the civet cat may be just an intermediate host of the virus, and it may have been infected by the Chinese horseshoe bat and obtained the virus from the latter. In short, the work of finding the source of the SARS virus is still ongoing, and the complete elimination of SARS still requires the joint efforts of all mankind.

Listed in the "Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union" (IUCN 2015 ver 3.1) - Least Concern (LC).

Listed in the "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora" (CITES) - Appendix III.

Listed in the "National List of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value" issued by the State Forestry Administration of China on August 1, 2000.  

Listed in the "China Red List of Biodiversity" (Mammals) - Near Threatened (NT).  

Listed in the "Classification and Management Scope of Prohibited Wildlife" (September 30, 2020).

Listed in Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 2019 Edition Appendix III.

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The world is distributed in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India (Andaman Islands), Indonesia (Sumatra, Kalimantan), Laos, Malaysia (Malaysian Peninsula, Sarawak, Sabah), Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan (introduced).
In China, it is distributed in Zhejiang, Fujian, Hainan, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hebei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Tibet and other places. Hangzhou Zoo has introduced it from Yuhang, Fuyang, Lin'an, Tonglu, Anji, Shaoxing, Shangyu, Zhuji, Dongyang, Yiwu, Kaihua, Xianju, Longquan and other places over the years.
The flower-faced civet cat is a relatively common forest-edge mammal. They mainly live in monsoon forests, evergreen or deciduous broad-leaved forests, sparse shrubs or sparse bare rock land with mixed rocks. They often use rock caves, earth holes, tree holes or dense shrubs on hills as secluded places. In winter and spring, they often rest in caves, and in hot summer, they often hide in dense shr

Head and body length 400-690 mm; tail length 350-600 mm; hind leg length 65-120 mm; ear length 40-60 mm; total skull length 100-130 mm; weight 3-7 kg. The morphological structure of the toes, foot pads, scent glands and central groove of the nose mirror is basically similar to that of the coconut palm civet. The limbs are relatively short, each with 5 toes. The claws are slightly retractable. The scent glands are not well developed. The tail is long and not entangled.
The flower-faced civet is named after the wide white facial stripe from the rear edge of the nose mirror through the center of the face to the top of the forehead. The neck and facial stripes are often continuous on the nape of the neck, but they vary depending on the season or region. The specimens in most regions degenerate and disappear in winter. There are rectangular spots under the eyes, corner spots (fan-shaped) and front spots in front of the ears (semicircular). The hair of the Chinese flower-faced civet in fr