+Gehan+de+Silva+Wijeyeratne+YE0M6232.JPG)
Tuesday 15 May 2007 155 MFR
Around 6.30 am the Common Palm-civets began to vocalise loudly. I sound recorded them from behind the wall and using a ladder climbed up. As my head emerged from above the wall I was surprised to find the mother only a few feet away from me, on another wall which was leading away. The mother gave a series of soft threat barks and slightly moved towards me. I moved away along a partitioning wall and gave her space. She hid behind a pipe and stuck her head out to watch me.
I went away to give her some space and returned hoping to video the pups. I had seen not the three pups I had seen yesterday. Instead I found four pups! All four were huddled together. When I returned ten minutes later the mother had removed three of the pups. The remaining pup was calling and spent some time trying un-successfully to leap up and scramble up a small wall. I left it and it subsequently curled up to sleep in the shade.
I noticed that the Palm-civets can shuffle backwards. I captured this movement on video as the pup did this on an open roof. This must be an adaptation to enable them to back out from tree holes and other narrow tunnels etc into which they squeeze into whilst foraging.
+Gehan+de+Silva+Wijeyeratne.JPG)
Monday 14 May 2007 155 MFR
Around 6.45 am I heard crows mobbing something and heard high pitched bird like calls. These came from a litter of three Common Pam-civets. They were actively vocalising till at least 8.00 am. Thanks to Mala, I finally located them on a lower section of roof of Mrs Pethiyagoda's house which was only visible from the sitting room. 3 pups were present. I had observed the mother going to and fro from my bedroom window.
I climbed up to the Murunga tree using a ladder and began to photograph them. The mother came on one of her visits and attempted to move a cub by grabbing her from the middle of the back. I took some blurred images of this. The images were blurred as it was overcast. Realising that I was stressing the mother I moved away. Soon the pups settled down and I began to photograph them. One of the pups got on to the ground. The others were attempting to scramble up the sheer face of smooth wall with no success. The mother came and helped the pup on the ground to get back on the roof. At one stage she had to pull the pup up from a pipe they had acsended onto the roof. The mother was trying to bring the cubs back on to the same section of roof. Concerned that I may stress the mother, I left them completely.
The mother exchanged stares with me from a few feet away and did not look panicked or hostile. But I felt it was best not to stress a mother who was feeding three pups.
6.45 pm Heard the Common Palm-civets vocalising from around 6.45 pm. The mother was taking the pups across the roof by carrying them one by one. I saw her jump a gap of 1.5 to 2 feet whilst carrying a pup. At least one of the pups managed the jump on their own. When I first saw them in the evening, there was enough light to see them but not to photograph.
Around 6.30 am the Common Palm-civets began to vocalise loudly. I sound recorded them from behind the wall and using a ladder climbed up. As my head emerged from above the wall I was surprised to find the mother only a few feet away from me, on another wall which was leading away. The mother gave a series of soft threat barks and slightly moved towards me. I moved away along a partitioning wall and gave her space. She hid behind a pipe and stuck her head out to watch me.
I went away to give her some space and returned hoping to video the pups. I had seen not the three pups I had seen yesterday. Instead I found four pups! All four were huddled together. When I returned ten minutes later the mother had removed three of the pups. The remaining pup was calling and spent some time trying un-successfully to leap up and scramble up a small wall. I left it and it subsequently curled up to sleep in the shade.
I noticed that the Palm-civets can shuffle backwards. I captured this movement on video as the pup did this on an open roof. This must be an adaptation to enable them to back out from tree holes and other narrow tunnels etc into which they squeeze into whilst foraging.
+Gehan+de+Silva+Wijeyeratne.JPG)
Monday 14 May 2007 155 MFR
Around 6.45 am I heard crows mobbing something and heard high pitched bird like calls. These came from a litter of three Common Pam-civets. They were actively vocalising till at least 8.00 am. Thanks to Mala, I finally located them on a lower section of roof of Mrs Pethiyagoda's house which was only visible from the sitting room. 3 pups were present. I had observed the mother going to and fro from my bedroom window.
I climbed up to the Murunga tree using a ladder and began to photograph them. The mother came on one of her visits and attempted to move a cub by grabbing her from the middle of the back. I took some blurred images of this. The images were blurred as it was overcast. Realising that I was stressing the mother I moved away. Soon the pups settled down and I began to photograph them. One of the pups got on to the ground. The others were attempting to scramble up the sheer face of smooth wall with no success. The mother came and helped the pup on the ground to get back on the roof. At one stage she had to pull the pup up from a pipe they had acsended onto the roof. The mother was trying to bring the cubs back on to the same section of roof. Concerned that I may stress the mother, I left them completely.
The mother exchanged stares with me from a few feet away and did not look panicked or hostile. But I felt it was best not to stress a mother who was feeding three pups.
6.45 pm Heard the Common Palm-civets vocalising from around 6.45 pm. The mother was taking the pups across the roof by carrying them one by one. I saw her jump a gap of 1.5 to 2 feet whilst carrying a pup. At least one of the pups managed the jump on their own. When I first saw them in the evening, there was enough light to see them but not to photograph.
