CIVETS. 
453 
Burmese Civet. 
Javan Civet. 
born with their eyes open. Hounds and other dogs, when they come across the 
trail of a civet, are said to leave that of any other animal they may be pursuing. 
The Malabar civet ( V. civettina), which replaces the preceding on the Malabar 
coast, is a closely allied species, distinguished by the large transverse markings on 
the sides of the body. 
The fourth, or Burmese civet ( V. viegaspila), may be recognised 
by the black line of the back being continued down the upper surface 
of the tail, in which the dark rings are continuous below, and at first not wider 
than the light interspaces. The sides of the body are marked with rather large 
and usually distinct spots, which may tend to coalesce into bands; and the 
terminal portion of the tail is black for a greater or lesser extent. This species 
seems to attain larger dimensions than the Indian civet, Mr. Blanford giving the 
total length of one example as 54| inches, of which the tail occupied 174 inches. 
It inhabits Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Cochin China, and the Island of Sumatra. 
The last of the five more typical species is the Javan civet (V. 
tangalunga), which is closely allied to the last, but distinguished by 
its smaller size, and the incompleteness of the dark rings on the under-side of the 
tail. This species has been recorded from Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the 
Philippines. According to Mr. Wallace it also occurs in the islands of the 
Molucca group, where, however, it may very probably have been introduced by 
the Malays, Avho are in the habit of carrying civets about in cages to the various 
islands, where they nre bought for their secretion. Dr. Guillemard relates, on the 
authority of a Dutch informant, that in Java a so-called “wild cat,” which is very 
probably this species, has the curious habit of eating ripe coffee-berries, for the 
.sake of their fleshy external covering. 
The last of the true civets is the rasse (V. malaccensis), the 
smallest member of the group, and distinguished, as already mentioned, 
from the others by the absence of erectile hairs along the middle of the back. As 
shown in our figure on the next page, it is a more slightly built and sharp-nosed animal 
than the others, with more curved and slender claws. The ground-colour of the fur 
is some shade of brownish-grey or yellowish-brown; upon which there are usually 
longitudinal dark lines down the back, and also rows of spots along the sides of the 
body. The dark rings on the tail vary from seven to nine in number. In size the 
rasse varies from 36 to 40 inches in total length; from 15 to 17 inches, of this being 
taken up by the tail. This small civet is found over the greater part of India, although 
not occurring in Sind and the Punjab, and some of the adjacent portions of Rajpu- 
tana. It is also found in Ceylon, and extends eastward from India through Assam 
to Burma and the Malay Peninsula, and thence to Southern China, Java, and some 
other islands. It has been introduced into Socotra, Madagascar, and the Comoro 
Islands. The rasse is said to differ from the other true civets in being a good 
climber and arboreal in its habits. It is, however, found in bush-covered districts 
rather than in thick forest; dwelling either in holes in the ground or among rocks. 
In confinement it is easily tamed, and feeds on such small animals as it can catch. 
The comparatively large number of true civets inhabiting India and Malaysia, 
as contrasted with the single representative of the genus found in Africa, suggests 
that in the later periods of the earth’s history the Oriental region was the original 
Rasse. 
