If you are having a tough time waking up this morning and relying on your second cup of coffee to get the day going, then you may have something in common with today’s animal. Okay, so maybe the Asian Palm Civet doesn’t need coffee to get their day going but it is one of the things they eat on a fairly regular basis. We discuss this more soon. First, you need to finish off your second cup of java and then pack since we are heading to Asia to learn about this relative of the Mongoose.

The Asian Palm Civet, which is also known as the Toddy Cat, can be found roaming around the jungles throughout much of Asia. So whether you want to visit Sri Lanka, Southern China or Southern India, there is a good chance you will get to see one of these Toddy Cats (if you are looking for them). Although, you may want to take this trip soon since the Civet population is declining as a result of…..yep, you guessed it….habitat destruction. For some reason, we like to remove all the lumber from these forests, which is making life difficult for the Toddy Cat.

Although the Asian Palm Civet may look cute, they are actually quite ferocious so I don’t recommend trying to pet a wild one on your next trip. This Civet species is also very secretive and only comes out at night to look for a scrumptious dinner. Typically, their diet is composed of animals such as rodents, lizards, snakes, frogs but they do supplement their diet with fruits and other plants. These plants include the coffee plant. Perhaps, this is why the Asian Palm Civet is so ferocious…. they just haven’t had their coffee yet.  You would think that nothing would want to mess with a ferocious animal that hasn’t had their coffee, but this isn’t the case. The Toddy Cat actually has to be on the lookout for many predators including tigers, leopards, crocodiles and large snakes. And unfortunately, due to humans, they will have less places to hide as we continue our wrath of deforestation.

I hope you enjoyed your trip to Asia to learn about the intriguing Asian Palm Civet. Grab some coffee for your trip home and I will meet you back here tomorrow for another Wild Fact.