Considered the rarest of the civet family, the totally protected banded linsang is native only to the rainforests of Malaysia, Thailand and parts of Indonesia.Thus, the birth of a rare banded linsang at the Taiping Zoo has spurred new hopes of studying the elusive animal. It is the first successful birth of a linsang in captivity in Malaysia.
The month-old baby linsang spends most of its time dozing and being weaned by its four-year-old mother.
Reference books state that the linsang is a carnivorous mammal of the family viveridae - a forest dweller which builds nests from leaves.
“It’s a beautiful animal but very little is known about the banded linsang, not even the female’s gestation period or mating cycles,” said zoo director Dr Kevin Lazarus.
“We missed the mating, otherwise we could have gauged the gestation period. Eventually, we hope to get more information on the banded linsang and publish our own findings,” he commented.
Link & Image: The Star
Tags: Banded Linsang | Rare
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