Otter Civet

About this species

Diet

Fish, crabs and freshwater molluscs; also birds and fruit

Habitat

Lowland primary forest, secondary forest, peat swamp forest

Range

Sumatra, Borneo, Malay Peninsula and peninsular Thailand

The otter civet is a semiaquatic viverrid, the only member of its genus. It is thought to be in severe decline through habitat destruction. Lowland primary forest is apparently its ideal habitat, though it also occurs in secondary forest, and it is believed to prefer peat swamp forest (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is nocturnal and takes most of its food from the water: fish, crabs and freshwater molluscs, and it can also climb to feed on birds and fruit. Camera traps have recorded it in an acacia plantation in central Sarawak, in Sabah's Deramakot Forest Reserve, and in Sabangau peat-swamp forest in central Kalimantan. Because it is rare and secretive it is very poorly known (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of Malaysia guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)