Golden palm civet

The golden palm civet is a viverrid endemic to Sri Lanka, described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1778, found across the island's wet, intermediate and dry zones with an isolated population in Wilpattu National Park, from sea level to at least 2,000 metres. It is gold to golden brown above and paler gold on the belly, with two morphs, one golden and one dark brown, an unpatterned face, faint darker bands and spots on the back, and an anal gland scent compared with Michelia champaca flowers. It inhabits lowland rainforest, tropical montane cloud forest, dense monsoon forest and dry zone forest, and also degraded forest, fragmented patches, agricultural land and gardens with tall trees, though not urban areas. It is arboreal, nocturnal and solitary and eats fruit, berries, invertebrates and small vertebrates. Genetic work indicates that several named forms are junior synonyms. It is Least Concern, but its hill habitat is declining.