Common palm civets are omnivorous and will eat whatever is available, but are mostly frugivorous, preferring berries and pulpy fruits.
Common palm civets are sometimes compared to raccoons from North America, in that they fill a similar niche. They are opportunistic and adaptable, eating whatever is available; however, they are mostly frugivorous, preferring berries and pulpy fruits over anything else.
Palm civets of Java are said to feed on over 35 different species of trees, shrubs, and creepers. Their favorite trees to feed from are fig trees and palm trees. They are particularly fond of chiku, mangoes, bananas, rambutan, pineapples, melons, and papayas.
Other than fruits, Asian palm civet are very fond of the sap from the flowers of sugar palm trees (Arenga pinnata) that are found throughout their natural range. They also drink the nectar of silk cotton trees (Ceiba petandra) and the stems of the apocynaceae tree.
Since Asian palm civets are foragers, they are frequently found in urban gardens, plantations, and orchards looking for food. In addition to their normal diet of fruit, civets also eat rats, shrews, mice, birds, insects, worms, seeds, eggs, reptiles, snails, scorpions, coffee, insects, molluscs, and more.
Sources: (Burton, 1968; Duckworth, et al., 2011; Larivière, 2003; Nelson, 2013; Spaan, Williams, Wirdateti, Semiadi, & Nekaris, 2014; Wemmer and Murtaugh, 1981)
Image: Stefan Magdalinski
