Asian palm civet trapped inside Mulund home, rescued

The civet was found taking shelter inside an empty house in Panchsheel Nagar, Mulund amid heavy showers.

A male Asian palm civet was found trapped inside a residential house in Mulund in the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. The civet was found taking shelter inside an empty house in Panchsheel Nagar, Mulund amid heavy showers.

The Asian palm civet would be kept under observation until released back into the wild, once the forest department declares it fit. (RAWW)

Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) is a small viverrid (small to medium sized mammals) native to South and Southeast Asia and is protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 in India. They are fast-paced animals, extremely shy and wary of humans and other animals.

Animal rescue group Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) was informed about the civet’s presence by locals. “Since the house was empty as the family was away, a neighbour spotted the civet making an attempt to find its way out of the house when it stopped raining. However, he noticed that the civet was unable to help itself out of the house and reported it to us on the helpline,” said Pawan Sharma, president, RAWW.

A five-member rescue team, led by Joaquim Naik, and members of the state forest department reached the spot and found the civet hiding in a small empty water tub at one corner of the house. “It was safely rescued by our team in coordination with the forest department by early morning on Monday,” said Sharma. He added that the civet was medically examined by veterinarian Dr Rina Dev and would be kept under observation until released back into the wild, once the forest department declares it fit.