3 baby civets squeak loudly for mommy at Dairy Farm in S'pore

Civets in the wild.

Belmont Lay | April 07, 2021, 03:34 AM

Three baby civets in the wild in Singapore have been caught on camera squeaking loudly.

The videos were first posted to a public Facebook group on April 5.

The caption of the post said the baby civets were spotted at Dairy Farm on Sunday, April 4, the day before.

What videos showed

In total, two videos were posted in the Facebook group.

First video

In the first video, a man and a woman could be heard saying in jest off-camera that the civets can be brought home.

The conversation was in dialect.

Here is a translated version:

Man: They can be reared.

Woman: No thanks.

Man: Do you want them? You can bring them home.

Woman: They can be taken by others.

The woman subsequently noted that the civets smelled bad.

She asked out loud: "Why do they smell so bad? They have a lot of flies over them."

A hand, likely belonging to the man, could be seen at the end of the video attempting to swat away some of the flies that were hovering over the civets.

Second video

In the second video, the same man and woman could be heard shooing the civets back into the area with vegetation.

The woman said to the civets: "Now people won't catch you all. Go back, go back. Or else, someone might come and catch you all."

The baby civets were then seen retreating into the vegetation covered area.

The constant squeaking noises the baby civets made were likely a signal for their mother to look for them.

Civets native to Singapore

Civets are native to Singapore and are also known as civet cats, Toddy cats, or musang in Malay.

One particular species, the Common Palm Civet, can be found on the island.

Contrary to their name, they are not cats and are instead more closely related to mongooses.

These creatures, which may look slightly similar to raccoons due to the dark band across their face, usually feed on fruits, insects and small animals.

What to do when you see a civet

Here's what you should do if you ever encounter a civet:

1. Do not be alarmed as the civets are shy and will try to stay out of sight so just leave them alone. If you are really interested, you can watch them from a distance and do not try to corner or chase them.

2. Civets may eat leftover cat food that is left out in the open, so do keep your pets' food indoor if civets are sighted near your neighbourhood.

3. If you find baby civets in your property, leave them alone as the mother will respond to them when they cry. The baby civets will start venturing out within two or three months after birth. After that, they will follow their mother to forage and will move out of your property eventually.