Vanes Devindran, The Star 3 Apr 10;
THE Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Malaysia has found a high encounter rate with the rare Hose’s civet, a small carnivore endemic to Borneo, at a timber concession area in upper Baram.
The society’s wildlife and logging unit assistant head John Mathai told StarMetro that its research team had recorded a good number of encounters with the civet via camera trappings in the Selaan-Linau forest management unit.
“This is unique. If it is in a protected area, fine, but we found it in a timber concession. We put our cameras there and found them,” he said.
WCS had launched a four-year expedition to monitor small carnivores in Selaan-Linau and managed to sight 14 of the 19 species expected there, including the Hose’s civet.
Not much is known about the Hose’s civet due to insufficient studies and documentation. Its population in the Bornean jungle is also not known.
Unlike the tiger and the orang utan, the Hose’s civet is not deemed as “charismatic” and not many know of its existence or are willing to sponsor research on the animal.
Mathai described it as a “specialist” because, unlike the Malay civet or the mongoose, it was found only in a specific area, and nobody knew why.
“It stands out because nothing is known about it and it is endemic to Borneo. We cannot say what is its conservation priority and, as far as we know, there are no areas in Sarawak where it is protected. Maybe the whole of Borneo has a large population of the species,” he said.
He said it was difficult to identify one individual Hose’s civet from another as all of them share the same colouring which was black on the top of its body and white on the lower part. He added that this was unlike tigers and clouded leopards which could be differentiated by the animals’ stripes or spots.
“We are a non-governmental organisation and we do not get grants but depend on donations.
“We have plans, ideas and study designs but do not have the money. It would help a lot if someone could sponsor a study on Hose’s civet,” said Mathai.