Found across South and Southeast Asia, from India and Nepal to southern China, Myanmar, and Indochina, this civet is the largest member of its genus and one of the most recognizable. Its long, low-slung body is covered in coarse gray fur patterned with dark stripes and spots, and its bushy, ringed tail adds to its wild elegance. With its sharp snout, alert eyes, and catlike movements, the Large Indian civet looks like a creature caught between a cat, a raccoon, and a mongoose.
One of the most fascinating things about the Large Indian civet is its adaptability. Although it is most at home in forests, grasslands, and bamboo thickets, it also thrives in rural farmlands and near villages, where it roams at night in search of food. It is a classic omnivore, feeding on fruits, small mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, insects, and even carrion. This varied diet allows it to survive in a wide range of habitats—from the foothills of the Himalayas to the plains of Thailand. Using its strong sense of smell and stealthy gait, it prowls quietly through the undergrowth, hunting or scavenging with precision.
Despite its bold appearance, the Large Indian civet is a solitary and secretive animal, rarely seen except by camera traps or night explorers. It spends its days hidden in dense vegetation or abandoned burrows, emerging at dusk to patrol its territory. Each civet marks its range with scent secretions from specialized glands located near its tail, leaving chemical signals that communicate dominance, territory, and reproductive status to others of its kind. When threatened, it can release a strong musky odor, a natural defense that has also made it infamous in human history. For centuries, this civet’s musk was harvested—often cruelly—to make perfume, a practice now largely banned but once widespread across Asia.
Distribution
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
China
India
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Nepal
Singapore
Thailand
VietnamAnything we've missed?
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Herd
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
