Predicted distribution of the Malay civet Viverra tangalunga (Mammalia: Carnivora: Viverridae) on Borneo
Ross J., Hearn AJ., Macdonald DW., Alfred R., Cheyne SM., Mohamed A., Boonratana R., Bernard H., Hon J., Rustam None., Brodie JF., Giordano A., Heydon M., Semiadi G., Mathai J., Fredriksson G., Marshall AJ., Pilgrim JD., van Berkel T., Belant JL., Kramer-Schadt S., Wilting A.
© 2016 National University of Singapore. The Malay civet Viverra tangalunga is a small carnivore occurring on several Indonesian islands, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The Malay civet occurs in diverse habitats, including primary and logged forest, and disturbed habitats near villages. It is listed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as globally Least Concern; however, the extent to which it can tolerate habitat alteration is unclear. We analysed 69 (Balanced Model) and 115 (Spatial Filtering Model) location records to predict habitat suitability on Borneo. The resulting models predicted a high proportion of Borneo as suitable habitat for the Malay civet, although most coastal areas, swamp forests and high-elevation areas were predicted to be unsuitable. Highly suitable areas for the Malay civet include the central forest block in Sabah, much of the production forest in Sarawak and East and North Kalimantan, Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park, and production forest in Central Kalimantan. The Malay civet is currently widespread and appears somewhat tolerant of habitat alteration, and therefore there are currently no species-specific conservation requirements, beyond the maintenance of the current remaining habitat in protected areas.