Rare Owston's civets successfully bred in captivity in Vietnam
Ten rare Owston's civets have been born naturally at the wildlife conservation center in Cúc Phương National Park.
On June 18, Lê Trọng Đạt, deputy director of the Center for Rescue, Conservation and Development of Organisms at Cúc Phương National Park in northern Vietnam, said that 10 Owston's civet kits had been successfully bred from four breeding pairs. The young are now about one month old and in good health.
An Owston's civet with two newborn kits. (Photo: Wildlife Conservation Center in Vietnam).
In late 2023, four adult female and eight adult male Owston's civets confiscated by authorities from the illegal wildlife trade were brought to the Wildlife Conservation Center in Vietnam and paired for breeding. "The 10 kits were born naturally to four mothers and are now quite healthy. The results exceeded our expectations," said Trần Văn Trường, ex-situ conservation coordinator at the Wildlife Conservation Center in Vietnam.
According to Lê Trọng Đạt, this is the largest successful breeding of Owston's civets ever recorded in the world.
All of the civets, including the kits, are monitored around the clock by a camera system. Keeping human disturbance to the animals to an absolute minimum is also a top priority.
The civets are monitored 24 hours a day by a camera system. (Photo: Wildlife Conservation Center in Vietnam).
In 2023, to conserve this rare civet, Cúc Phương National Park and the Wildlife Conservation Center in Vietnam built a 1.3-hectare conservation breeding area with facilities including perimeter fencing, breeding enclosures and a food preparation area.
The project aims to breed and maintain a stable population of at least 50 Owston's civets and begin rebuilding the population before releasing them into the wild. Authorities expect that the civets at Cúc Phương could be released into the wild within the next three to four years.
The Wildlife Conservation Center in Vietnam is seeking additional resources and expanding cooperation with domestic partners such as the Hanoi Wildlife Rescue Center, the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Hồ Chí Minh City, and government agencies to diversify the gene pool.
Owston's civet, scientific name Chrotogale owstoni, is a striking small carnivore of high ecological value and is very rare in the wild. It has one of the smallest ranges of any small carnivore in Asia, found only in Vietnam, Laos and a very small part of southern China. The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is classified as an endangered species prioritized for protection.
Wild populations of Owston's civet are declining sharply due to illegal hunting and trade for food and the pet market. As a result, "protecting and restoring Owston's civet has become a priority for biodiversity conservation in Vietnam and worldwide," according to the Wildlife Conservation Center in Vietnam. Hunting, trading or consuming Owston's civets is illegal in Vietnam and can lead to criminal prosecution.
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