Sulawesi civet captured in Lore Lindu park<\/p>\n
By Richard Smithers<\/p>\n
LORE LINDU, Central Sulawesi (JP): A rare Sulawesi civet cat,
\none of the world's least-known carnivores, has been captured
\nalive in Lore Lindu National Park.<\/p>\n
Although first described by scientists more than 100 years
\nago, the civet has been sighted only a handful of times since,
\ndespite extensive searches. The secretive creature is Sulawesi's
\ntop predator after the python and an acrobatic climber renowned
\nfor being able to descend trees headfirst.<\/p>\n
The young male musang, as it is called locally, was caught
\nrecently by villagers and has been released in the National Park
\nafter being filmed for a New Zealand nature television
\ndocumentary. It weighed 9 kg and measured 130 cm from head to
\ntail. The civet was released in the park's mountain forest away
\nfrom human predators.<\/p>\n
Ecologist Duncan Neville, manager of The Nature Conservancy's
\nLore Lindu National Park project, said finding the civet was a
\nscientific landmark for the National Park.<\/p>\n
\"The Sulawesi civet is a magnificent, clever and athletic
\ncreature,\" Neville said. \"It is one of the most important mammal
\nspecies in Sulawesi.\"<\/p>\n
Neville said that the civet was so rare that, prior to its
\nrecent capture, the New Zealand television crew spent three
\nmonths unsuccessfully trying to film one in the National Park.
\nThe crew flew back to Indonesia as soon as they were told that a
\nspecimen had been successfully captured. Previously, the civet
\nhad not been photographed since 1983, Neville said.<\/p>\n
\"This is an animal that we should know much more about in
\nIndonesia. Seeing the civet in the flesh made me realize again
\nwhy we need to work hard to preserve these forests so animals
\nlike this can flourish,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Despite being in a national park, the civet's forest habitat
\nis under constant pressure from illegal agricultural clearing,
\nhunting and rattan (cane) collection.<\/p>\n
The civet was caught by villagers under the direction of
\nYulisan Sango, a sub-section head of the Lore Lindu National Park
\nmanagement organization (BTNLL). Yulisan, who originally worked
\nwith the New Zealand documentary team, continued looking for the
\ncivet a year after the television crew abandoned its search and
\nleft Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Known scientifically as Macrogalidia muschenbrooki, the civet
\neats small birds, mammals, palm fruit and eggs.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sulawesi-civet-captured-in-lore-lindu-park-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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