There is good news in the Jiuling Mountain National Nature Reserve in Jiangxi. When the staff recovered the infrared camera and checked the detection data taken in the wild, they discovered a mysterious figure in the picture.
I saw that this mysterious animal was covered with stripes. It looked like a tiger cub or a kitten. Soon, after the appraisal by relevant experts, it was confirmed that this "non-tiger and non-tiger" The mysterious animal called "cat" turned out to be the national second-level protected animal --the spotted forest raccoon .
Because the spotted forest raccoon has never been found here in Jiuling Mountain in the past, the staff did not recognize it immediately when they first discovered it.
Because the spotted forest civet is a very secretive little animal, and they like to live alone and live in trees, it is currently impossible to confirm how many spotted forest civets are present in the Jiulingshan Nature Reserve. , however, because the spotted civet has very high requirements for its habitat, the appearance of the spotted civet here this time is also an affirmation of the natural environment of the Jiulingshan Reserve.
So, what is a "spotted forest raccoon"?
Spotted civets are small mammals. They belong to the family "Lincatidae" and are also known as "little civets" among the people. From the appearance point of view, spotted civets are very easy to identify because they have a very long and furry big tail, and their tawny skin is covered with black spots, which also makes them look a bit like "night civets". ", but looks more special than "Night Civet Cat".
From the distribution point of view, the spotted forest civet is mainly distributed in Asia. Because it is a small animal that loves heat, its habitat in the wild is mainly monsoon forest, subtropical evergreen forest, etc.
In our country, in addition to Jiangxi, where the spotted forest civet was discovered this time, the spotted forest civet is also distributed in my country's Guangdong, Guangxi, , Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, Tibet and other areas, but the number is also very rare, which also leads to They are difficult to see.
Judging from the diet of bandicoots, they mainly feed on small vertebrates. Sometimes they also eat bird eggs and berries on plants. However, if they encounter food shortages, they will also take risks. They are close to human living areas, which leads to the occurrence of "spotted forest civets breaking into residents' homes" in areas where they are distributed.
For example, in November last year, in a community in Chaling, Hunan, a spotted civet broke into a resident's home and stole food. Experts speculated that it should have gotten lost or was looking for food when it was storing food for the winter. It broke into a human living area. Later, the local forest police also captured the spotted forest civet and took it to the mountains to release it.
In March 2020, a spotted civet broke into a resident's home in Lushui City, Yunnan. The resident said that this "little wild cat" had been running to his house for many days because it looked strange. , worried about protecting animals, so they didn’t dare to handle it without permission, and finally asked the local forest police for help, leaving it in the hands of professionals.
There are many similar situations. In April 2020, a villager in Chenzhou, Hunan Province said that a "little wild cat" broke into his home and refused to drive it away. He had no choice but to call the police for help. Local forestry personnel After arriving, they found that the "little wild cat" looked like a cat and a big mouse. After confirmation, they found out that it was an endangered species - the spotted forest civet, and then took it away and released it. .
Including Jiangxi, where the spotted forest civet was discovered this time, in November 2018, it also broke into residents' homes. It can also be seen from here that this small animal can easily get close to human living areas. , therefore, I would like to remind everyone here that if you find spotted forest civets, do not harm them and contact the local forestry department in time.
So, why are the spotted civets so rare in our country?
In the past, there were actually a lot of spotted forest civets in our country. However, due to human factors, they were hunted by humans for a long time before they became protected animals. As a result, their numbers in our country plummeted. In addition, human activities have caused Their habitats are fragmented, which has also led to their unoptimistic situation in our country, and there are even local extinctions in some places.
In recent years, in order to protect the spotted forest civet, our country has also built many protected areas. However, outside the nature reserves, spotted forest civets are still occasionally hunted.
For example, in July 2020, the forest police in Zhaoqing, my country, uncovered a heinous case of illegal hunting and killing of wild animals, in which the carcasses of a large number of protected animals such as spotted civets were discovered. The amount involved was approximately 1.2 million yuan.
Therefore, relevant experts also suggest that they hope to further increase the protection measures for spotted forest civets, and at the same time upgrade them to national first-level protected animals . In this way, they can be better protected. Friends, what do you think? Welcome to leave a message and tell us your opinions!
