Small Indian Civet

The small Indian civet has a brown, yellowish or tawny-orange coat marked with black and white neck rings, small body spots, six to eight dark stripes toward the rear and a strongly banded tail. It lacks the raised dorsal crest of Viverra civets and has a shorter muzzle. Adults weigh 2–4 kg and measure 75–106 cm overall (Animal Diversity Web).

It is highly adaptable and often favours open habitats, riverine and deciduous forest, grassland and places near people rather than dense rainforest. Its native range spans South and Southeast Asia to southern and central China, while humans introduced it to several western Indian Ocean and Philippine islands. Much available behavioural information comes from captivity and is not generalized here (Animal Diversity Web). It is Nationally Least Concern (Thailand Red Data 2025).