Order: Carnivora
Family: Viverridae
Size: up to 75-106 cm in length (head to tail).
Weight: around 2-4 kg.
Key Features: have brown, yellow, or tawny orange pelage ornamented with black and white rings on their necks, small spots on the body which converge into six to eight dark stripes on the back toward the tail, and black-and-white banded tails. The paws are typically dark brown or black, and the breast is a lighter brown or gray, with few if any markings. Males are generally larger than females.
Voice: makes "da-da-da" sound.
Breeding: Breeding can occur throughout the year in some areas and seasonal in other areas.
Diet: feeds on fruit, small vertebrates, especially rodents, rion, and human garbage.
Habitat: seen near riverine, deciduous forest and grassland environments.
Habits: are generally solitary and nocturnal. Occasionally, pairs are formed (for mating and hunting). In areas not disturbed by humans, they have been reported to sometimes also hunt by day. Small Indian civets are primarily terrestrial, though they also climb well. Individuals sleep in burrows or hollow logs. They can dig their own burrows, but also occupy abandoned burrows of other species.
Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Distribution in the GoK: reported along the coast of Gulf of Kachchh.
References:
Viverricula indica. In Animal Diversity Web, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. Retrieved on July 15, 2014 from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Viverricula_indica/
Blanford, W. T. (1888–91). Genus Viverricula Hodgson. Pages 100–101 in: The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. Taylor and Francis, London.
Lekalul, B. and McNeely, J. A. (1977). Mammals of Thailand. Association for the Conservation of Wildlife, Bangkok.
Su Su. (2005). Small carnivores and their threats in Hlawga Wildlife Park, Myanmar. Small Carnivore Conservation 33: 6–13.
IUCN Red List. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41710/0