Banded Palm Civet (Hemigalus derbyanus)

Small to medium-sized carnivores, civets are in the Viverridae family which includes genets, linsangs, and mongooses. Civets vary in size and form, but most present a catlike appearance with long noses, slender bodies, pointed ears, short legs and generally a long furry tail.

Banded palm civet is similar to banded linsang (Prionodon linsang) but banded linsang is smaller with entirely banded tail and spots on the body in addition to barring.

This is a juvenille banded palm civet that the local people captured. He actually tried to get the mother of this "unlucky" little civet but unfortunately he missed her. Mostly local people in this area eat civet's meat. After the mother run away this man saw this helpless little civet and captured it.

This local people tried to kept this little guy as their pet but he have problem with it. It do not eat fruits such as banana that he gave to it. Why? It is because banded palm civet is not frugivores. Their diets are earthworms, insects and other small animals both invertebrate and vertebrate.

When he saw me interested with this little guy, he ask me what this animal normally eat? I told him that info. Finally he decide to give it away to me. I was very happy and thinking of donate it to our mini zoo at KK. On my last day at that village, i was waiting for him to give me this little civet. However, he told me it was escaped because his kids forgot to closed the cage door.

Anyway, i have other feeling about it. People at this area have a very bad habit. If they have something they will not give away freely. They want some token out of it. I will not do it because if i buy it, this will give them some demand on getting more wild animals to be sold as a pet. This happen before. The other guy from this village kept Bornean Gibbon as a pet. One teacher teaching in that village saw it and he admired this gibbon very much. He offered him about RM500 for that gibbon and he just sell it. Not only that, the other guy from the adjacent village own a Malayan Porcupine (Hystrix brachyura) and wanted to sell it with the price RM30.

Even how i really wanted this animal to live freely in the forest i still not gonna buy it from them. There is still a way that can make this people aware that it is wrong to sell this wild animal. They know it is against the Wildlife Enactment (law) but when there is demand they just get it. They need money to live their own life too. Therefore the only thing that i can do is by giving them awareness on why we need to let this animal stays in the forest. Especially the young/juvenile one.

It is still a long way to go. Working with human is not easy...................we have unique and different mind set...hmmmm...

Interesting Info About Civet

Don't you think that civet is one of an interesting animal? Here are some info on what civets can gave us......

Civet oil has been used in the perfume industry for centuries and has been recorded as being imported from Africa by King Solomon in the tenth century B.C. Once refined, civet oil is prized for its odor and long lasting properties.

Civet oil is also valued for its medicinal uses which include the reduction of perspiration, a cure for some skin disorders and claims of aphrodisiac powers. Although the development of sensitive chemical substitutes has decreased the value of civet oil, it is still a part of some East African and Oriental economies.

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Kopi Luwak are robusta or arabica coffee beans which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Common Palm Civet. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago.

"Kopi" is the Indonesian word for coffee and "Luwak" is local name of this animal which eats the raw red coffee 'cherries' as part of its usual diet. This animal eats a mixed diet of insects, small mammals and fruits along with the softer outer part of the coffee cherry but does not digest the inner beans, instead excreting them still covered in some inner layers of the cherry.

Locals then gather the beans -- which come through the 'animal stage' fairly intact -- and sell them on to dealers. It is believed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee's flavour through fermentation of some type.

Read more info on Kopi Luwak here: Paradise Coffee

The Flowing Water

When there is so many works have to be done. Brain are stuck and my mind out focus.

So, what should i do???

Hmmm..better to take 5 and search for any interesting and lovely photos from my picture albums. Log in to blogger.com and write a post.....

Yes..that i what i should do. My blog is so outdated. A few weeks without any stories.

Just wanna share this photo....the water source which create a waterfall.......something like that....

The water flow from this river up on the ridges...........................

....................down through this top and.....................

...............fall down here. Can't stand so near the wall, a bit scary when look down from that top....you jump.......end of the story..........

THE SEA

...........................without end.........................

Sabah Research Field Centre

I was busy preparing one of my working paper on establishments of the research and education centre in our area. While doing my writing i surf the net. Trying to look for an idea. I found quite interesting development of research field centre all around the world. To fit into local needs i may try to combine some of it. Facilities may not too expenssive but still can cater needs of visitors and this place as a rainforest learning hub.

Okay, too much talking. Actually i want to share a few of my findings. Here is the link to a few numbers of field centres.

• Danau Girang Field Centre

This centre is a collaborative research and training facility managed by Cardiff University and Sabah Widlife Department.

• Danum Valley Field Centre

Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA) is a Class I (Protection) Forest Researve located on the western side of the upper reaches of the Segama River in Southeast Sabah, and is the largest remaining area of undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah.

• Maliau Basin

Maliau Basin Conservation Area is situated just above the Equator in south central Sabah, the northernmost of the two East Malaysian states on the island of Borneo.

• Imbak Canyon

Imbak Canyon Conservation Area is located almost right in the heart of Sabah, just north of the famous Maliau Basin. It is in the Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area, approximately 80 kilometers south of Telupid.

**I think enough for this four for now. There are still a lot more. I am so grateful because we still have this much of forested areas. However, the battle is still going on for the indigenous people and life inside these forests.

So Much Work So Little Time

It was a long silence from me. I think it has been two weeks without any posts from me. I was busy completing my paper work and of course out in the field for a few days. This is my work and i choose to do it. So, i have to do it without complaining.

I recieve an email from a friend today. It is about family.............

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.


He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you.'


We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.


But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old..


Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.


When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown...


He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.


While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said,


'While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.


Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.


Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.


He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'


By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.


I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said...


'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.


I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'


I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'


I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue....'


FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives..


And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family,
an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think?
So what is behind the story?


Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU


**Interesting story right? Hope you enjoy my post today.....:D