Welcome to our Civet Conservation Project page.

The Philippine civet is endemic to the forests and mountains of the Philippines such as those in Ifugao Province.

Commonly referred to as "civet cats," these nocturnal mammals are more closely related to the mongoose family than to felines, and are specifically classified under Asian Palm Civets. It's local names are motit (Ilocano), alamid or musang (Tagalog and Southern Luzon) and balos in the B'laan dialect Davao del Sur and South Cotabato in Mindanao.

Pula is one of three barangays in Asipulo with an abundant growth of shade Robusta coffee trees. The cherries from these trees are what the civets primarily subsist on during the coffee flowering months. The civets tend to pick only the sweetest,  juiciest and ripest cherries from the trees.

Sadly, Philippine civets are considered endangered animals due to the depletion of trees and resources that serve as their natural habitat. There is also a common misimpression that civets are wild cats that can be domesticated, and are captured as pets or later eaten as delicacy.

For this reason, we have taken the initiative to help save the civets that roam freely in our forests, at the same time, make the Park their home.

We started the conservation project in late 2007, allotting an area in the Park where the civets can be safe. The protected area has hundreds of Robusta trees for the civets to feed on during the coffee season, and other organic plants such as wild banana in the off-season. 

It took some time to make the protected area safe from poachers and from other animals. With the help of volunteers and donors who contributed fencing materials, we were able to finally prepare the conservation area for the civets in the Park. With members of our organization helping spread the word to neighboring barangays, more civets were turned over to us for the project.

The civets were kept in bamboo enclosures, fed, and cared for by the IFSAA members and volunteers. Finally, at around 6:30 PM of April 20, 2008, we released our first two civets into the conservation area. Feeling the earth again, the civets soon made their way up the trees and started getting used to their surroundings.

The residents of neighboring barangays continue to bring many more civets to be part of the project.

The civet conservation project aims to protect and enhance the symbiotic relationship between the civets and the residents of Pula. Saving the civet contributes towards an alternative livelihood for the farmers: the production of pure and unmixed shade Robusta civet coffee.

krvilla | 08 (below, second from left) | Isabel L. Templo | 08 (top and below left, second from right and rightmost) | K. Theodossis | 08 (above, left)