Wildlifeof Bhutan
Large Indian Civet
Civets, Linsangs & Mongooses
Photo: (c) Ian Dugdale, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Viverra zibetha
Basic stats
Diet
A wide variety of small animals
Habitat
Forest
Range
Nepal, north-east India, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Southeast Asia and China
Size
Head and body 50–95cm; tail 38–59cm
Weight
3.4–9.2kg
The large Indian civet is grey or tawny with a black stripe along the spine from behind the shoulders to the base of the tail. A whitish patch marks the front of the muzzle, the chin and fore throat are blackish, and the neck is banded with black and white. The tail has a variable number of complete black and white rings (Wikipedia, general species account).
It ranges from Nepal, north-east India and Bhutan to the Malay Peninsula, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China. It is solitary and nocturnal and an opportunistic hunter of many kinds of small animals. In China the wild population fell 94 to 99% after the 1950s through deforestation, hunting for fur and use of its musk glands in medicine and perfume.
Quick answers
- What does the Large Indian Civet eat?
- A wide variety of small animals
- What habitat does the Large Indian Civet live in?
- Forest
- Where is the Large Indian Civet found?
- Nepal, north-east India, Bhutan and Bangladesh to Southeast Asia and China
- How big is the Large Indian Civet?
- Head and body 50–95cm; tail 38–59cm
- How much does the Large Indian Civet weigh?
- 3.4–9.2kg