Owston's palm civet

The spot Roller ( Chrotogale owstoni ) is a predatory species from the family of civets ( Viverridae ). He lives in Southeast Asia.

Description

Spot scooters have an elongated, slender body with a bushy tail and an elongated snout. The basic color of the fur is gray on the back they have four broad, black stripes, on the face and neck several black stripes. Between the bands, and on the limbs they have numerous black spots. Also, the rear part of the bushy tail is black. Spot scooter reach a body length 56-72 cm, a tail length of 35-47 cm and a weight from 2.5 to 4 kilograms.

Distribution and habitat

Spot scooter live in southern China ( Yunnan and Guangxi ), in Laos and the northern and central Vietnam. Their habitat is forests, usually near rivers.

Way of life

They are nocturnal and live mainly on the ground. When sleeping places they use tree hollows, burrows or dense vegetation. Although they are solitary animals in the wild, several animals living in captivity together peacefully. They are territorial animals that mark their territory with the secretion of their anal gland.

Stain Roller feed mainly on worms and insects, sometimes they also eat small vertebrates and fruit. With their long snout they often burrow through soil or foliage, but climb in search of food and sometimes on trees.

Once or twice a year, the female gives birth after 60 -day gestation period one to three pups.

Threat

Spot scooters are to some extent culture follower who live in the vicinity of villages and sometimes penetrate in search of waste in homes. Hunting and habitat destruction are the main threat, the IUCN lists them as vulnerable ( vulnerable ).