Asian palm civet Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet ("Paradoxurus hermaphroditus") is a small viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it is tolerant of a broad range of habitats. It is widely distributed with large populations that in 2008 were thought unlikely to be declining. In 2012, it was suggested that recent increases in capturing the animals for kopi luwak (civet coffee) production may constitute a significant threat to wild palm civet populations. The Asian palm civet is a small, mottled gray and black viverrid weighing . It has a
Civet (perfumery) noninfectious. The name derives from the Arabic "zabād" or "sinnawr al-zabād", civet cat ("Viverra civetta"), by way of Old Italian "zibetto" and Middle French "civette". The 10th century Arab historian al-Masudi mentioned civet ("zabāda") as a spice in his book "Murūdj al-dhahab" (Meadows of Gold). Civet was among the many trade items that caravans, controlled by the Ghana empires, carried from the Niger valley to North Africa. Civet (perfumery) Civet ("Zibeth"; "Zibet"; "Zibetum"), also known as civet musk, is the glandular secretion produced by both sexes of Viverridae species. A number of viverrid species secrete civet oil in their perineal