Brown palm civet ( Paradoxurus jerdoni ), an elusive nocturnal animal, was recently spotted by city-based wildlife photographer T.R.A. Arunthavaselvan at Valparai. Also called ‘Jerdon's Palm Civet’, the animal is different from the common civet cat.
According to Mr. Arunthavaselvan, the civet was spotted while he was passing through Valparai on March 16, around 6.45 p.m.
“I sighted the nocturnal animal, an unusual looking civet, while travelling on a road to Valparai. It was resting on a tree about three metre above the ground, in an area of semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest. The sighting lasted 35 minutes and the animal was photographed with a digital SLR camera,” said Mr. Arunthavaselvan. Unlike the common civet cat or toddy cat, the brown palm civet has brown fur all over its body and a prominently brown nose. He said that the animal spotted at Valparai appeared to be fully grown.
According to him, the brown palm civet is found in the hill ranges of south India and in North Kanara. Its general habits are similar to common civet cat.
Endemic to rain forests of Western Ghats, its body length is between 48 cm and 59 cm, with a tail length between 40 cm and 53.5 cm. They weigh between 2.4 kg and 4 kg.
