A juvenile civet was found hiding in the corner of a drink stall in a coffee shop in Queenstown.
It is believed to have climbed in through one of the stall windows and was eventually taken away by NParks (National Parks Board). The coffee shop owner, however, is worried that the mother civet may want to retrieve the baby and “make trouble” at the coffee shop later.
Brice Li, a Facebook user, posted on Nov 11 that at about 6:30 in the morning, the owner of a coffee shop that Mr Li frequented called him for help, saying that a “raccoon” had appeared in his coffee shop.
After seeing the photo sent to him, Mr Li told the coffee shop owner that it was not a raccoon, but a juvenile common palm civet. He suggested that it be left alone or call ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society) if required.
He said that because there are many fruit trees favoured by civets in the area, the residents in the vicinity know that there is an adult civet living nearby and came near the coffees shop from time to time, but they did not expect that the adult civet to have given birth.
Civets are not only found in the forested areas in Singapore but are also well adapted to live in residential areas. They could be sighted in Siglap, Alexandra, Portsdown, Bukit Timah, Tanglin, central catchment and Pulau Ubin.
Being arboreal, they’re commonly found on trees and roofs, often using cable wires, street lamps and trees. They are nocturnal and are often seen at dusk and dawn. Civets also feed on fruits and other small animals including insects, rats and small snakes. Their role in ecology includes helping with seed dispersal and forest regeneration.
Mr Li said that after the coffee shop boss “asked for help” the day before, he arrived at the coffee shop at 10 am and saw the civet still hiding in the same corner. He then called the ACRES and NParks for help. NParks dispatched a contractor to arrive at the coffee shop around 12 o’clock to take the young civet away.
Mr Li said: “I heard from the boss that the civet was very fierce and bit the hand of the captors. Fortunately, he was wearing gloves at the time. They tried to catch it with a net, but it kept jumping around and knocked things over. Finally, the contractor captured it with his bare hands while it was hiding in a corner.”
Mr Li added that the boss said that the civet mother may be looking for her baby last night and come to the coffee shop to “make trouble”.
“The civet cat has a very sensitive nose. Maybe the mother smelled the child in the coffee shop, so she came back to find the child.”
He plans to contact NParks to find out about the situation of the young civet which was caught and see if it can be reunited with the mother.
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