Jelil et al.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Poaching record of a Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hemaphroditus from Assam, India

Shah Nawaz JELIL1*, Sudipta NAG2 and Matt HAYWARD3

1. Division of Wildlife Management and Biodiversity Conservation, ENVIRON,

60, LNB Road, Hatigaon, Guwahati- 781006, Assam, India. Presently at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, India 2. Primate Research Centre, North East India, House no. 4, Bye lane 3, Ananda Abstract. Nagar, Pandu, Guwahati-781012, Assam, India 3. We report a chance encounter of poaching of a Common Palm Civet School of Environment, Natural Paradoxurus hemaphroditus in Nadangiri Reserve Forest of Assam, Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 Northeast India. We suggest long term monitoring studies in the study area to 2DG, Wales, UK inform conservation of the species.

Keywords: Wildlife trade, Nadangiri Reserve Forest, Chakrasila Wildlife Correspondence: Sanctuary, Northeast India Shah Nawaz Jelil [email protected]

Associate editor: Héctor E. Ramírez-Chaves

http://www.smallcarnivoreconservation.org ISSN 1019-5041

The Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hemaphroditus is a nocturnal omnivore that is distributed throughout most of non-Himalayan India except the arid west. It inhabits a wide range of habitats which includes deciduous, evergreen and scrub forests, well- wooded countryside and plantations (Menon, 2014). It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (Duckworth et al. 2015) and is included in Schedule II of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Globally its distribution includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam (references). Although distributed in most parts of India, the species is poorly studied for its distribution, ecology or trade, particularly in Assam.

Here we document a new record of the Common Palm Civet from Nadangiri Reserved Forest, one of the least surveyed forests in Assam (Figure 1). The hilly terrain, ranging from 30 – 455 m above sea level is covered with dense semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest, with patches of grassland and scattered bushes. The Nadangiri RF is noted particularly for the healthy population of Endangered Golden Langur Tracyipithecus geei. Other mammals found in Nadangiri and nearby Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary include

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Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta, Slow Loris Nycticebus bengalensis, Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard Panthera pardus, Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Wild Pig Sus scrofa, Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak, Sambar Cervus unicolor, and Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla (Chetry et al. 2010). Temperatures range from 7ᴼC to 34ᴼ C and it receives annual rainfall between 2,000–3,000 mm.

Figure 1. Representation of the study area: Nadangiri RF (Source: Google Earth).

On 27 February 2016 at 07h42, SNJ and two foresters encountered two poachers carrying a dead Common Palm Civet. The encounter took place near a rubber garden at the location 26°24ʼ20.8” N, 90°21ʼ58.1” E. One of the poachers carried the civet on a stick along with a net which they claimed was used to catch and handle the civet (Figure 2). Upon asking, they informed us that they smoked the Civet out of its hole where it was lodged. Additionally, we found one possible burrow used by civet species with fresh faecal matter near it (Figure 3). This can be used by other species as well. We also encountered faecal matter near a fruiting tree of Ficus glomerata (Figure 4), which has been identified as the preferred food of the Common Palm Civet (Mohinder Basumatary, personal communication). We found tracks of civets in Nadangiri RF and adjoining Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary.

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Figure 2. The poached Common Palm Civet at Nadangiri RF, (A-C) pictures taken from different angles.

Figure 3. (A) Potential burrow of Civet with (B) fresh scat (Photo: SNJ).

33 Small Carnivore Conservation 56: 31–35 Poaching record of a Common Palm Civet in India

Figure 4. Fruiting tree of Ficus glomerata where faecal matter was found nearby (Photo: SNJ).

Small carnivores in India are threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, pollution from insecticides and pesticides, and a general lack of concern toward their long-term conservation (Menon, 2014). Additionally, poaching is pervasive in the study area which is of concern. The poachers claimed that the meat was intended for self-consumption and not for selling at the market. In some parts of its range this species is hunted for bush meat, civet coffee (in Indonesia) and pet trade (Nijman et al. 2014). In South China it is extensively hunted and trapped for wild meat (Duckworth et al. 2008). Earlier records of hunting for bush meat in India were reported by Gupta (2004) where carcasses were found with local tribes during visits to Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and Agra, Uttar Pradesh between 1998 and 2003. Hunting pressure may affect local populations of NFR, where the landscape is highly fragmented and anthropogenically modified. The local

Small Carnivore Conservation 56: 31–35 34 Jelil et al. trade of the civets is yet to be studied and understood; insights into existing international trade links, if any, would further help in conservation efforts. We suggest long term monitoring studies in the study area to inform conservation of the species.

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the Kokrajhar Wildlife Division, Assam Forest Department for their cooperation. Special thanks go to the members of Dawkaraja for help during the field surveys. Thanks to Dr. Jihosuo Biswas of Primate Research Centre (PRC), NE Unit, for help during the initial drafting of the article. We sincerely acknowledge the untiring and constant review of the manuscript by Dr. Narayan Sharma of Cotton College State University, Assam. We thank his valuable suggestions. References

Chetry D, Chetry R, Ghosh K & Bhattacharjee PC. 2010. Status and conservation of Golden Langur in Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India. Primate Conservation 25: 1–6. Duckworth JW, Widmann P, Custodio C, Gonzalez JC, Jennings A & Veron G. 2008. Paradoxurus hermaphroditus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T41693A10518525. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T41693A10518525.en. Gupta BK. 2004. Killing civets for meat and scent in India. Small Carnivore Conservation 31: 21. Menon V. 2014. Indian Mammals: A Field Guide. Hachette Book Publishing India, Gurgaon, India. Nijman V, Spaan D, Rode-Margono EJ, Roberts PD, Wirdateti & Nekaris KAI. 2014. Trade in Common Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus in Javan and Balinese markets, Indonesia. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 1–17.

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