The African palm civet is grey to dark brown with dark spots on the back. It has short legs, small ears, a lean body, and a long, ringed tail. It has two sets of scent glands on the lower abdomen and between the third and fourth toes on each foot, which secrete a strong-smelling substance used to mark territory and in mating. Adult females reach a body length of 37–61 cm (15–24 in) with a 34–70 cm (13–28 in) long tail and weigh 1.2–2.7 kg (2.6–6.0 lb). Adult males reach 39.8–62.5 cm (15.7–24.6 in) in body length with a 43–76.2 cm (16.9–30.0 in) long tail and weigh 1.3–3 kg (2.9–6.6 lb).[3]
Males have home ranges of 34–153 ha (0.13–0.59 sq mi) and females of 29–70 ha (0.11–0.27 sq mi). The home range of a dominant male includes home ranges of several females.[13]
Reproduction
In Gabon, females were recorded to give birth in the long wet season and at the onset of the dry season between September and January.[13] The female usually gives birth after a gestation period of 2–3 months. A litter consists of up to four young that are suckled for around three months. While she has suckling young, the female's mammary glands produce an orange-yellow liquid, which discolours her abdomen and the young civets' fur. This probably discourages males from mating with nursing females.[citation needed]
Its generation length is 7.8 years.[14]
The African palm civet is threatened by habitat loss and hunting for bushmeat.[1]
In 2006, an estimated more than 4,300 African palm civets are hunted yearly in the Nigerian part and around 3,300 in the Cameroon part of the Cross–Sanaga–Bioko coastal forests.[18]
In Guinea, dead African palm civets were recorded in spring 1997 on bushmeat market in villages located in the vicinity of the National Park of Upper Niger.[19] Dried heads of African palm civets were found in 2007 at the Bohicon and Dantokpa Markets in southern Benin, suggesting that they are used as fetish in animal rituals.[20]
The attitude of rural people in Ghana towards African palm civets is hostile; they consider them a menace to their food resources and safety of children.[21] In Gabon, it is among the most frequently found small carnivores for sale in bushmeat markets.[22] Upper Guinean forests in Liberia are considered a biodiversity hotspot. They have already been fragmented into two blocks. Large tracts are threatened by commercial logging and mining activities, and are converted for agricultural use including large-scale oil palmplantations in concessions obtained by a foreign company.[11]
^Van Rompaey, H.; Ray, J.C. (2013). "Nandinia binotata Two-spotted Palm Civet (African Palm Civet, Tree Civet)". In Kingdon, J.; Hoffmann, M. (eds.). The Mammals of Africa. V. Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 140–144.
^ abPocock, R. I. (1929). "Carnivora". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. IV (14th ed.). pp. 896–900.
^Eisentraut, M. (1973). Die Wirbeltierfauna von Fernando Po und Westkamerun. Bonn: Bonner Zoologische Monographien 3.
^Perkin, A. (2004). "A new range record for the African palm civet Nandinia binotata (Carnivora, Viverridae) from Unguja Island, Zanzibar". African Journal of Ecology. 42 (3): 232–234. Bibcode:2004AfJEc..42..232P. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2004.00499.x.
^ abcCharles-Dominique, P. (1978). "Écologie et vie sociale de Nandinia binotata (Carnivores, Viverridés): Comparaison avec les prosimiens sympatriques du Gabon". La Terre et la Vie (32): 477–528.
^Pacifici, M.; Santini, L.; Di Marco, M.; Baisero, D.; Francucci, L.; Grottolo Marasini, G.; Visconti, P.; Rondinini, C. (2013). "Generation length for mammals". Nature Conservation (5): 87–94.
^Gray, J. E. (1830). "Fam. Felidae. Gen. Viverra". Spicilegia zoologica; or, original figures and short systematic descriptions of new and unfigured animals. London: Treuttel, Würtz. p. 9.
^Gray, J. E. (1843). "Viverrina. The Nandine". List of the Specimens of Mammalia in the Collection of the British Museum. London: British Museum (Natural History). pp. 47–56.
^Bahaa-el-din, L.; Henschel, P.; Aba’a, R.; Abernethy, K.; Bohm, T.; Bout, N.; Coad, L.; Head, J.; Inoue, E.; Lahm, S.; Lee, M. E.; Maisels, F.; Rabanal, L.; Starkey, M.; Taylor, G.; Vanthomme, A.; Nakashima, Y.; Hunter, L. (2013). "Notes on the distribution and status of small carnivores in Gabon". Small Carnivore Conservation (48): 19–29.