Otter civet

Mampalon from Brehm's Animal Life

The Otterzivette ( Cynogale bennettii ) is an adapted to aquatic life carnivore species from the family of civets ( Viverridae ). She lives in Southeast Asia and is also known by its Malay name Mampalon.

Features

Unusually for a Civet the Otterzivette has a thick, bulky body and a very short tail. Their body length is about 57-68 inches, added a roughly 13 to 20 centimeters long tail. The weight of these animals is approximately 3 to 5 kilograms. The muzzle is much flatter and wider than other civets. The coat is gray-brown. In adaptation to aquatic life, the nostrils are at the top of the snout and are, like the ear openings, lockable. Characteristic is the highly elongated, white whiskers are in the face. Webbed exist only on the hind legs, and even then only slightly developed.

Dissemination and habitat

Mampalons inhabit the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo. May not exist a second population in northern Vietnam and southern China. From this population, but there are unconfirmed sightings besides only one Fund, which was made in 1926 in North Vietnam. In the opinion of some researchers, this population a separate species, Cynogale lowei, dar.

Habitat of Otterzivetten are riverfront and marsh regions within tropical rainforests.

Way of life

The Otterzivette is a skilled swimmer, but also moves often on land and can also climb trees. Due to their nocturnal, withdrawn life, little is known about their behavior.

They feed on fish, mussels and crabs, but also of mice and birds. Supposedly the Otterzivette like a crocodile in the water, only the nose openings looking out to attack to the water to drink next prey; these representations are but doubted by many zoologists. As with most civets and fruits make up a portion of food.

About the propagation Hardly anything is known. Presumably, the litter size is two or three pups.

Threat

Otterzivetten are an endangered species, the main danger lies in the loss of habitat through deforestation. There are insufficient data, the total population size can not be selected. The IUCN estimates but that the stock in the last 15 years has decreased ( three generations) by half and list them as threatened ( "endangered ").