Common Palm Civet

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The Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) is a small, cat sized, viverid from South-east Asia and southern China.

The Common Palm Civet is an nocturnal omnivore. The primary food source is fruit.

Some Chinese eat Palm Civets. The SARS virus is thought to entered the human population from Palm Civets captured in the wild for human consumption. The feces of Palm Civets are used in some types of coffee preparation. Its species name comes from the fact that both sexes have scent glands underneath their tail that resemble testicles. They can spray a noxious secretion from this gland.

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