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Cat sense

  • 30/04/1994

Cat sense TRADITIONAL systems of biological resource use are staging a comeback after having taken a beating from the invasion of technology, capital intensive systems of use and catastrophic erosion of our biological resource base. The time is now ripe to consider the feasibility of promoting traditional systems in terms of tangible economic benefits and impacts on biodiversity conservation.

The example of the Malabar civet offers us a rare opportunity to link the rehabilitation of a critically endangered species to tangible economic benefits to the local people. A survey conducted by Francis Xavier of the Kerala Agricultural University reveals that there is tremendous scope of economic benefits through captive rearing of civets for extraction of musk, both for traditional uses in medicine and in perfumery.

The use of civet-musk in traditional medicine and perfumery is one of the few cases of the non-destructive use of animals. The musk of the Malabar civet has traditionally been used in Kerala against many thoracic ailments, including asthma and also as an analgesic and aphrodisiac.

During a survey in northern Kerala, we found that most practitioners of traditional medicine were keen to obtain the musk of the Malabar civet or to rear the species for musk-extraction. But a lack of knowledge on captive breeding and rearing of the Malabar civet has resulted in rampant adulteration, forcing many practitioners to import the musk of the African civet or to use some other less preferred substitutes.

Concern about the Malabar civet began early this century when several expeditions failed to obtain specimens. Declared "possibly extinct" by the World Conservation Union in 1978, the Malabar civet was rediscovered in 1987 when two skins of recently killed animals were obtained in northern Kerala by the Zoological Survey of India. Studies reveal that the primary habitat of the species is the lowland riparian forests which were the first to be colonised by humans. Most of the primary habitat of the Malabar civet has, therefore, been lost; and whatever remains has been severely fragmented and degraded.

The Malabar civet presently occurs only as a relict in the lowland forest fragments and private lands along the foothills of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Karnataka. The total population is unlikely to be more than 250 to 500 animals. Most of these are in private cashew and rubber plantations. Promiscuous hunting and the conversion of these plantations into human settlements pose serious threats to the survival of these populations.

Fading knowledge
The use of the species in traditional medicine has stopped altogether. The last animal to be kept in captivity for medical purposes was nearly 30 years ago in northern Kerala. Even the local knowledge of the species has almost disappeared. There is all the more need to protect these relict populations.

We also need to establish a captive breeding colony, although the in situ conservation of the species is far from certain. Also, data on the basic biological parameters are necessary to predict and ensure the survival of the species in the wild. Finally, reintroducing animals bred in captivity in the wild might become imperative. The big question is whether the rehabilitation of the Malabar civet in the wild should be linked to its rehabilitation in the traditional systems.

Ajith Kumar is associated with the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

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