Elusive and Intriguing: The Behavioural Patterns of Owston’s Civet

Owston's civet (Chrotogale owstoni) within the species captive breeding program [Photo credit: Frankie Tyrrell]

In the first of our 'Meet the Researcher' series, we hear from Frankie Tyrrell, zoology graduate from the University of Manchester, UK. In this blog, Frankie shares with us her research experience and her love for the mesmerising Owston's civet (Chrotogale owstoni).

About me

As a recent Zoology graduate from the University of Manchester, I’ve always had a deep passion for conservation and protecting endangered species. Last year, I completed an industrial placement at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall as part of my degree. During my time there, I conducted an extensive behavioural research project on the Owston’s civet. This experience was a true privilege—once you see how gorgeous these animals are, you will understand why!

The Owston’s civet

The Owston’s civet (Chrotogale owstoni) is one of the lesser-known civets, even from a group that often goes under the radar anyway! Primarily found in Vietnam, this species may also have populations in Laos PDR and South China. In recent years, their numbers in the wild have been decreasing due to the illegal wild meat trade and habitat loss. Indiscriminate snaring poses a significant threat to this species, as does trapping for the civet coffee industry. Consequently, Owston’s civet is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with a likely future upgrade to critically endangered if populations continue to decline. Unfortunately, these beautiful animals are at real risk of going extinct in our lifetimes.

European Ex-Situ Population

The captive population outside of the species’ native range exists solely in the UK, managed as an European Ex-situ Population (EEP), which, at the time of my project, contained just 10 individuals. The absence of reproductive success in this population since 2020 is alarming in a population of such importance. These individuals are managed in a handful of small UK zoos, including Newquay, and the programme is supported by hormone analysis carried out by Chester Zoo.

Owston's civet within the captive breeding program at Newquay Zoo, UK. [Photo Credit: Frankie Tyrrell].

Research!

Current scientific knowledge on the Owston’s civet is minimal. Our research is therefore critical and groundbreaking, aiming to understand their mating behaviour to facilitate captive breeding. We recorded behaviours in the form of an ethogram, which is a scientific way of categorising different actions as behaviours, and enables us to quantify behaviour recordings. These included behaviours such as fighting, grooming and mating.

In 2023, Newquay Zoo had two breeding pairs, placed in enclosures with various differences. I carried out observations, recording every social behaviour exhibited between pairs over 24-hour periods.

I spent a LOT of time watching civets. I became able to identify each civet from the CCTV pictures, because if you look really closely they have slightly different stripes, spots, and tails.

Over the breeding season from July to April, I collected extensive data (endless spreadsheets…) on how the civets spent their time and interacted in different pairs. Analysing this data was really challenging due to numerous factors potentially controlling behaviour, such as hormones, temperature, humidity, noise levels, and individual pairings. This complexity made it difficult to untangle what were the primary drivers of behavioural changes.

So, what did we find? Well, we found that aggressive behaviours were tied closely with mating behaviour and occur in peaks around every two weeks. We also found that the pairing of civets was significant (the males were swapped between females during the season) in controlling behaviour, but the reasons behind this could be numerous. Combination of our data with hormonal data from Chester Zoo revealed a pattern of increased levels of hormones leading to females initiating more social interactions. Putting this into context, this data also enforces the understanding that Owston’s civets live solitarily in the wild, and purely come together to mate.

Owston's civet. [Photo Credit: Newquay Zoo].

Where we are now

As of now, sadly the ex-situ programme has dropped in number to only 6 civets. Attempts to breed are ongoing but have not so far produced any success, but collaboration with Chester Zoo is ongoing and could perhaps result in an attempt at in-vitro fertilisation. In brighter news, the captive population at The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Centre in Cuc Phong National Park has seen ten births in the past breeding season. This success offers hope for revitalising the breeding programme, which is crucial for providing a viable backup population if the species goes extinct in the wild and also working towards reintroducing this species back to protected areas as per the goals of the 10 year conservation strategy.

Future

As with all conservation projects, efforts really have to have a collaborative and multi-faceted approach. Research like mine contributes to a better understanding of this amazing species, which lets us make more informed decisions about how to help these animals. Ideally, with mating success our captive population can become stable, and in the future we can make reintroductions to the wild to boost these populations.

When I started this project, my colleagues told me that once you join Team Civet, you never leave. It is true!

Learning about this incredible animal's plight and the challenges they face has only strengthened my belief in the importance of supporting conservation initiatives. So, in other words, join Team Civet!

How You Can Help?

You can join Team Civet! You can:

• Subscribe to our mailing list- we will email you once per month with the latest civet news and updates.

• Donate to The Civet Project Foundation to support civet research and outreach programs.

• Buy a civet-tee and show your support publicly!

• Follow us on social media- every new like, share, and comment helps us reach more people. You can find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.