Mother civet spotted in S’pore helping its baby climb tree after falling from it

Mother civet helps baby climb tree after falling from it

A wildlife photographer recently caught sight of a baby common palm civet falling from a tall tree in the south of Singapore.

The cries from the civet also aroused the attention of a community cat.

Fortunately, with the help of the baby civet’s mother, it was able to successfully climb up the tree again.

Community cat was aroused by the civet’s cries after it fell

On Sunday (19 May), 34-year-old photographer Tan Yong Lin recounted his experience witnessing the interaction between the mother-and-child civets on the ‘Nature Society Singapore’ Facebook group.

In particular, he remarked that it was stressful seeing the baby civet fall from the tree initially.

Upon falling, it lay on the ground and did not move from its position.

Mr Tan added that at the same time, the thud from the fall was heard by a community cat in the area.

Speaking to MS News, Mr Tan mentioned that the community cats in the estate are quite accustomed to seeing civets.

On the day of his sighting, the cat came to check on the civet after hearing its cries but did not disturb it.

Mother civet helped its baby to climb up the tree slowly

However, the baby soon recovered and began crying loudly.

Also hearing the cries, the mother civet, which was then on the tree, immediately scuttled down to her baby’s side.

Thereafter, she gradually pushed her baby towards the tree.

Keeping a close eye on her baby, she watched as it climbed up the tree slowly.

“Step by step, it hauled its body upwards with its tiny paws, with mom occasionally assisting with a push or two,” the photographer wrote.

Mr Tan told MS News that the mother was ahead of her baby at all times. It also looked back to check that it was doing alright as it made its way up the tree.

Public urged not to disturb & crowd around civets

In his post, Mr Tan also pointed out that his images were taken at a distance from the civets.

He implored the public to avoid crowding around a baby civet if they were to come across one.

According to him, doing so may cause its parent to fear approaching its baby and potentially abandon it.

An advisory on NParks’ website similarly echoes his sentiment, instructing the public to leave the mammals alone and not to pick them up.

It further highlighted that while it was acceptable to observe the civets from afar, one should not corner or chase them as it might trigger them to attack out of self-defence.

To view more of Mr Tan’s wildlife photography, you can head over to his Instagram account @ylint.

Also read: Chonky Civet Cat Gets Comfortable In Bukit Timah Tree, Cleverly Stays In The Shade

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Featured image adapted from Tan Yong Lin on Facebook.