Estimated Abundance and Distribution of Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, Pallas 1777) in the Rural Landscape of Sukaresmi, West Bandung Regency

Abstract

Common palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, Pallas 1777) is one species of mammal that has high ecological and economical functions. The ecological function of common palm civet is as an agent of forest rejuvenation by dispersing seeds of forest plants. A study to estimate the abundance and distribution of common palm civet was carried out in Sukaresmi village, West Bandung Regency. The study proposed to collect the data of common palm civet abundance and distribution that can be used as a reference for common palm civet protection and conservation measures. Three methods were used: direct survey on common palm civet encounter, direct survey on common palm civet signs, and semi-structured interviews with local informants. The result showed that common palm civet abundance in the study site was estimated between 12 and 66 individuals. The dominant habitat type was kebun campuran (annual-perennial rotation garden) and shrubs. The potential threats to the population of common palm civet was the presence of coucang, bats, squirrels, and frugivorous birds as rivals, dholes as predators, and human as illegal poachers. The effort to protect common palm civet is not yet carried out by the local people as the population is still regarded as abundant and it is not yet of protection concern. Nevertheless, local knowledge about the important roles of common palm civet in the environment can lead to an awareness aimed to reduce illegal poaching.

Impact of weather conditions, seasonality and moonlight on the use of artificial canopy bridges by nocturnal arboreal mammals

“…Avoiding the brightest nights could be an anti-predator strategy (Nash 2007;Prugh and Golden 2014;Pratas-Santiago et al 2016;Campera et al 2019). Potential predators to civets and slow lorises include leopards, snakes, raptors, feral dogs, and humans, all of which occur at our study site (Joshi et al 1995;Rode-Margono and Nekaris 2014;Parikesit et al 2019). Only the latter two occur at high density, with hunting by humans for both species confirmed, and hunting lorises by feral dogs also confirmed (Nekaris unpublished data).…”

“…Slow lorises used them within 2-22 days, and on average, within 10 days (Nekaris et al 2020). Palm civets and slow lorises in general are considered to adapt well to human modified landscapes, and for example, frequently may be seen crossing roads, making them vulnerable to road accidents or capture for pet trade (Nakabayashi et al 2014;Nijman et al 2014;Al-Razi et al 2019;Parikesit et al 2019). The ability of palm civets and lorises to adapt to human infrastructures means that appropriate placement of bridges could help mitigate these risks.…”

“…Asian palm civets are predominantly frugivorous, whereas Javan slow lorises are predominantly exudativorous, with both also consuming small mammals, birds, molluscs, and insects, with Javan slow loris also eating nectar in the wetter season (Brown and Shine 2007;Cabana et al 2017). At the same time, both species are subject to potential predation by larger felids, snakes and raptors (Joshi et al 1995;Birot et al 2019;Parikesit et al 2019). Despite the threat of predation, in studies of Javan palm civets and slow lorises (Rode-Margono and Nekaris 2014; Parikesit et al 2019), the former demonstrates less activity on moonless and cloudy nights or remains active regardless of moonlight and the latter demonstrates more activity on darker nights.…”

“…At the same time, both species are subject to potential predation by larger felids, snakes and raptors (Joshi et al 1995;Birot et al 2019;Parikesit et al 2019). Despite the threat of predation, in studies of Javan palm civets and slow lorises (Rode-Margono and Nekaris 2014; Parikesit et al 2019), the former demonstrates less activity on moonless and cloudy nights or remains active regardless of moonlight and the latter demonstrates more activity on darker nights. Both palm civets and slow lorises can adapt well to human habitations where they are not hunted, including frequently using vegetation along roadsides and motorbike tracks (Nakabayashi et al 2014;Birot et al, 2019;Parikesit et al 2019).…”

“…Despite the threat of predation, in studies of Javan palm civets and slow lorises (Rode-Margono and Nekaris 2014; Parikesit et al 2019), the former demonstrates less activity on moonless and cloudy nights or remains active regardless of moonlight and the latter demonstrates more activity on darker nights. Both palm civets and slow lorises can adapt well to human habitations where they are not hunted, including frequently using vegetation along roadsides and motorbike tracks (Nakabayashi et al 2014;Birot et al, 2019;Parikesit et al 2019). We have previously shown that in West Java, Indonesia, Javan palm civets and Javan slow lorises use artificial canopy bridges in the form of raised waterlines used to irrigate farmers' fields (Spaan et al 2014;Nekaris et al 2020).…”