Commuter spots civet cat at Redhill MRT station, jokingly asks “Who are you?”
A commuter spotted a civet cat walking through Redhill MRT station on 20 March, capturing the rare encounter on video.
The clip, posted on TikTok, quickly gained traction as netizens marvelled at the unusual sight of a wild animal navigating an urban train station.
Source: Tiktok
Commuter encounters unexpected ‘passenger’ at Redhill MRT
38-year-old Eric Er told MS News that he saw the civet cat after tapping into the station at around 5pm.
“I happened to see it before going up the escalator. At first, I thought it was just a normal cat, but as it moved towards me, it looked strange yet familiar,” he said.
Only after posting the video online did he realise what he had encountered.
“Once I posted it, people started commenting that it was a civet cat. Some even said there’s a group of them around Henderson!” said Mr Er.
Source: Tiktok
Seeing wildlife in such an urban setting amused him.
“I just find it very interesting to see this in a city area, rather than a zoo. It’s quite amusing to think that this garden city has some wildlife of its own,”added the Building Information Modeling (BIM) manager.
Singapore’s native civet cats rarely appear in city areas
Common Palm Civets live in forests, nature parks, and some residential estates in Singapore.
However, finding one inside an MRT station is highly unusual.
With their long bodies, bushy tails, and distinctive facial markings, civet cats often get mistaken for stray cats.
Unlike the kopi luwak civets in Indonesia and Malaysia — famous for their role in producing coffee — Singapore’s civets help maintain biodiversity by dispersing seeds and controlling insect populations.
Mr Er admitted he had no idea civet cats were part of Singapore’s wildlife.
“I didn’t know Singapore had this native mammal all along. I only knew about them from coffee bean packaging in Indonesia or Malaysia,” he said.
Civet cat sightings in Singapore’s urban areas beyond Redhill
While unusual, civet cats have been spotted in urban areas before.
In January this year, one climbed into a 14th-floor balcony, while in 2022, another wandered into a Toa Payoh stairwell, amusing residents before slipping away.
The National Parks Board (NParks) reassured the public that civet cats do not pose a danger to humans and usually avoid people.
However, feeding them could encourage more urban visits, so residents should let them find their own food.
The Redhill MRT sighting made Mr Er think about how native wildlife and how it coexists with urban life.
For him, the encounter felt both amusing and eye-opening.
“It’s quite funny to see something like this just casually walking through an MRT station,” he said.
Also read: Wild palm civet climbs onto 14th-storey balcony, ACRES rescues it with umbrellas & broom
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Featured image adapted from a screenshot from Tiktok and NParks.
