Ferret-badger

Java sunroof ( Melogale orientalis)

The sun badgers ( Melogale ) are a predator species of the subfamily of Helictidinae within the marten family ( Mustelidae ). The genus includes five species that live in Southeast Asia. With the actual badgers they are not as closely related as once believed.

Description

Sun Badgers have a long, bushy tail. Their body is elongated, the legs are relatively short. Their fur color varies from gray-brown to dark brown, the underside is lighter. Characteristic features are a white or reddish back strip and a striking black-and- white patterned face. These animals can reach a body length 33-43 inches, the tail is 15 to 23 inches long and her weight is 1-3 kg.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution of solar badgers extends from eastern India and the Middle China through the Malay Peninsula to Borneo and Bali. Their habitat is forests in the first place, but sometimes they are also found in the grasslands.

Way of life

Sun badgers are crepuscular or nocturnal. During the day, they retreat in natural shelters or burrows of other animals, they dig in contrast to other badgers do not own burrows. At night, they go in search of food, where they climb on trees, sometimes they rest even in crotches. Little is known about their social behavior, presumably they live solitary.

Food

Sun Badgers are omnivores who take both small vertebrates (mainly frogs and lizards ), insects and worms as well as fruits and other plant parts to himself.

Reproduction

After an approximately 60 - day gestation, the female gives birth to one to five (usually two ) pups. These are self-employed, with around two to three months.

The types

• The Chinese sunroof ( Melogale moschata) is in central and southern China ( including Taiwan and Hainan ), in the northeastern India and spread to the north of Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
• The Burma -badger ( Melogale personata ) is native of Myanmar and Vietnam to southern Thailand.
• The Java sunroof ( Melogale orientalis ) lives on the islands of Java and Bali. In some classifications it is considered merely as a subspecies of the Burma - sun badger.
• The Bornean sun roof ( Melogale everetti ) is only known from a small area in northern Borneo. The species is IUCN as threatened ( vulnerable ).
• The Cuc Phuong sunroof ( Melogale cucphuongensis ) is known only from the Vietnamese National Park Cuc Phương and was not described until 2011.