On Jul. 16, 2024, three wildlife photographers were waiting to spot a common palm civet family known to reside at a Bukit Merah HDB block.

The shy creatures were known to hide themselves away from the public's eye.

Little did the group expect to be involved in reuniting the baby civet with its family that night.

A pleasant surprise

In the blur of the night, the trio noticed movement on the grass patch at about 8:30pm.

Moving meekly along the grass was an adult common palm civet, accompanied by a much smaller companion.

The pair was believed to be father and child.

The baby civet retreated into the bush upon being noticed, one of the photographers, Maricel Cabanero, shared with Mothership.

Meanwhile, its father climbed up another tree.

Cabanero and her friends stood at a distance to observe the civets.

It was only an hour later that the civets came out into the open to rejoin the rest of their family, which was seen to reside in an opening in the ceiling.

The father civet climbed up the pillar stealthily and reunited with its family in no time.

A baby's ordeal

However, it struggled to do the same, and was left behind.

With its tiny paws, it was unable to get a good grip of the pillar to heave its small body up.

The baby was left stranded, pacing along the metal railing anxiously while letting out shrill shrieks, seemingly crying for help to its family above.

Cabanero shared that the shy baby civet repeatedly retreated into the bush when residents passed by.

Shortly, the baby civet's parents climbed down and attempted to help it up the pillar.

This included attempts by its mother to carry it on its back.

However, the baby civet continued to struggle despite encouragement from its parents.

The rest of its family also came out of hiding.

They continuously egged their youngest member on, but to little avail.

Cabanero expressed that their “hearts felt pain” while watching the little civet crying helplessly.

This spurred her and her friends to take action.

The aid

They began searching for items that could aid the little civet’s grip.

One of the photographers found a dried palm branch, long enough to provide the civet support up the pole.

They leaned the branch against the pole, which the baby civet was able to efficiently use as support to inch its way up.

Taking one step after another, it managed to make its way to the top and was welcomed by its family members.

The baby civet reunited with its family at around 10pm.

Speaking to Mothership, Cabanero shared that it was an “unforgettable experience to see the whole family” in the open as they are usually hiding in the opening of the ceiling.

With this priceless experience, she expressed, “Our efforts waiting for an hour and [the] travel journey paid off .”

Top photos courtesy of Maricel Cabanero