2 Indian Civets Return to the Wild

For a solitary species, nothing may be better than the fresh air of independence, and

thanks to the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity in Cambodia, two Indian civet kittens are now living that dream. Witness their first moments of freedom in this video of their release back into the wild jungle.

Indian civet cats are protected in many areas of South and Southeast Asia, where they are native, but they are not safeguarded in Cambodia, where these kittens were found orphaned after their mother was killed by hunters. Unfortunately, it isn’t uncommon for these animals to be trapped and killed for the wild meat trade, which is largely responsible for their declining population numbers.

At just a month old, these cats were rescued by the good folks at the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity, along with another sibling who sadly didn’t make it. The Centre cared for them for six months ahead of this release, providing the milk and nourishment they needed to grow, until they were old enough to survive on their own. When that day finally came, these nocturnal cuties were released at dusk, near a pond, where there are plenty of fish, birds, lizards, frogs, insects, and other food to sustain them as they adapt to their new life in the wild, where they belong.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/indian-civets-return-to-the-wild/?utm_source=Green+Monster+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=525976748a-NEWSLETTER_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbf62ddf34-525976748a-106919241