Malays. Appl. Biol. (2018) 47(1): 139–144
INFLUENCES OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON MALAY CIVET’S
(Viverra tangalunga) OCCUPANCY IN SARAWAK
THAQIFAH SYAZA JAILAN1, MELYNDA CHEOK KA YI1, SALLY SOO KAICHEEN1,
FLORIANE BOUARD1 and JAYASILAN MOHD-AZLAN1*
1Animal Resource Science and Management Programme, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak
*E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 27 February 2018, Published online 31 March 2018
ABSTRACT
Malay Civet, Viverra tangalunga is one of the most commonly recorded carnivores by camera trapping surveys. This species occupies a diverse range of habitat types, therefore, the IUCN Red List classifies this species as Least Concern. Primarily a ground-dwelling species that has a wide distribution in Borneo, the Malay Civet enables a progressed perspective in understanding the effects of human activities towards a highly adaptable species. In this study, six protected areas that were categorized as low, medium and high volume of human activities were compared in relation to the intensity of human activities that corresponds to Malay Civet’s occupancy. Camera traps were placed in six selected protected areas, however the results showed extreme fluctuations between both protected areas under the high classifications of human activities as Gunung Gading National Park (GGNP) has high detection rate of Malay Civet whereas none were detected in Sarawak National Park (SNP). This suggests that high human activities may have influenced the Malay Civet’s activities in a protected area, other factors such as habitat preferences and geographical distribution may have higher influence on Malay Civet’s occupancy and dispersal in Sarawak.
Key words: Carnivore, disturbance, human activities, protected areas, Viverra tangalunga
