Rescue of two Common Palm Civet kittens

Common Palm Civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) are relatively common in urban Singapore. Being nocturnal creatures, they are seldom seen. More often than not they are heard rather than seen. They love to nest in the attic of old houses and in the dead of the night their heavy movements above may send shivers down your spine – unless you are aware that civets are moving around the area under your roof.

On the night of 5th March 2016, a pair of baby civets fell from the attic of a two-storied house onto a ledge of the neighbouring house. The adults were unable to access the ledge where their kittens landed. The soft cries of the latter attracted the attention of the occupants who picked them up and handed them back to the neighbour.

Loida received the kittens wrapped in thick cloth and placed them in a strategic place where they could scamper back up to the attic. There the kittens were united with the two adults that had kept out of sight most of the time.

The next morning the two kittens were seen in the open area behind the house, clinging onto the slender stem of a sugarcane plant. Apparently the adults had moved them away from the attic. There the kittens allowed themselves to be photographed by Sheng Lau before moving away.

Currently the family of Common Palm Civets is somewhere among the mature trees growing in the open area.

Sheng Lau, Amber Lau & Loida
Singapore
8th March 2016