This is the final close up day for the Asian Palm Civet with a focus on the Kopi Luwak Industry and their treatment of the Asian Palm Civet. Kopi Luwak is Indonesian and translates to Coffee (Kopi) and Asian Palm Civet (Luwak). Kopi Luwak comes from Asian Palm Civet eating coffee cherries, not fully digesting the inner coffee stone/bean, and defecating the beans. This digestion process does change the coffee bean’s chemical composition. Once the bean is cleaned, dried, roasted, and brewed into coffee, it does create a different tasting coffee. Why would anyone take coffee beans from the stool of an animal? During Indonesia’s colonization times, Dutch colonizers and plantation owners would grow Arabica coffee as a cash crop. However, the Dutch plantation owners would not allow the local Indonesians, including those who worked on the farms, to try the coffee. These locals noticed the coffee beans in the Asian Palm Civet stool and decided to clean, dry, roast, and brew these coffee beans. Eventually the Dutch plantation owners found out, tried this coffee, agreed the coffee was good, and decided to sell it. Initially, the Kopi Luwak Industry helped the Asian Palm Civet. The Toddy Cat was considered a pest of coffee and fruit farms because they would steal fruit. As Kopi Luwak became more popular, this industry helped encourage the protection of the Toddy Cats. Why is Kopi Luwak so expensive? At first, wild civet poop was collected from coffee plantations and from the forests where wild civets roamed. Finding and gathering this stool was very time consuming and difficult so with greater demand than product, the coffee became more expensive. As Kopi Luwak became more popular, the Civets were captured and caged to make it easier to get their stool and keep up with the growing demand. However, even with caged civets, the price of this coffee has stayed high for both the consumer and the civets. In 2013, the BBC news team investigated some Kopi Luwak Plantations. They found the Asian Palm Civets kept in inhuman conditions that went against the natural behavior of these civets. Normally, wild Asian Palm Civets are very territorial, enjoy solitude, sleep during the day, hunt during the night, and only eat the ripest of coffee cherries along with many other foods. At these coffee farms, Asian Palm Civets were found to be kept in very small cages that were close together. These cages were not regularly cleaned and these Toddy Cats are forced to walk on the dirty metal cage floors 24/7 causing sores and open wounds on their feet. Tourists and workers on these plantations would keep these civets awake during daylight hours and ruin their normal nocturnal sleeping patterns. Many Toddy Cats were thin and malnourished from a singular diet of coffee cherries. While others became obese from not being able to run around. Many would run in circles in their cages trying to get find ways out. They would also lose fur and get constipated from their diets. When the Asian Palm Civets were not useful to the plantations anymore, they would be sold to live animal markets or released back into the wild. If they were sold to live animal markets, then they could become potential disease carriers and spreaders in their poor health. Researchers have documented that certain strains of the SARS virus can transfer from these civets to humans and these live markets became a disease breeding ground. If they are released back into the wild after being caged, they are too weak to survive long and die soon after. From the articles and news I was able to find, the Kopi Luwak industry does not have regulations regularly making, checking, or enforcing any rules on the care of caged civets nor what is allowed to be labelled as wild Kopi Luwak. Businesses buying and selling Kopi Luwak to consumers can advertise their coffee as being sourced from wild sources without anyone checking if it is or not. Even the businesses trying to be responsible and source their Kopi Luwak from wild sources can be lied to by middle men or the managers of the Kopi Luwak plantations. Sometimes caged and wild civet coffee beans are mixed and passed off for wild civet Kopi Luwak. Is there anything we can do to help? Yes and it will even save us money. Do not buy Kopi Luwak. Do not create a demand for this product. Vote with your dollar by not buying what you do not want to support. Spread the word of the harm this product is causing to the civets and that Kopi Luwak advertised as wild is not necessarily from wild civets. There are so many other choices of coffee out there that are not harming Asian Palm Civets or other animals. Please continue to enjoy your coffee at a price that does not hurt your wallet and the animals and environment producing it. Asian Palm Civet Facts
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Paradoxurus_hermaphroditus/ http://animalia.bio/asian-palm-civet https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kopi-Luwak The Asian Palm Civet and the Kopi luwak coffee industry https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/04/160429-kopi-luwak-captive-civet-coffee-Indonesia/ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-24034029 https://theexoticbean.com/blog/coffee-types/history-kopi-luwak-coffee-from-civets/ (Disclaimer: I am not advertising for this website and I am not encouraging you to buy the products found on this website. This website was used as a reference for the history of Kopi Luwak only). https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/what-is-the-true-cost-of-the-worlds-most-expensive-coffee/7C883DA427A9B6B5F8D795C511648B20 https://investigations.peta.org/kopi-luwak-coffee-cruelty/
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This is the first of 2 close up days for my Asian Palm Civet. I decided to split the Close Up Days so I can talk about my favorite fun facts about the Asian Palm Civet this week and then go into the Kopi Luwak Coffee Industry next week. The Asian Palm Civet's ability to choose the sweetest and ripest of coffee cherries is only a small part of it's diet. It has a sweet tooth and consumes many other types of fruits and plant sugars including chiku, mangoes, bananas, rambutan, papayas, nectar of silk cotton trees, and sap from the flowers of sugar palm trees. The fermented sap from the sugar palm trees is called toddy so the Asian Palm Civet was given the nickname Toddy Cat. Because of this love of fruit, these toddy cats are very important to their tropical forest ecosystems. Coffee beans in their poop is just one of the many seeds they disperse throughout the forests. The Asian Palm Civet also eats meats like small rodents, birds, insects, worms, seeds, eggs, reptiles, snails, and scorpions. Looking at the Asian Palm Civet's teeth, they have weaker carnivore teeth than their other relative civets who more meat based diets. The Asian Palm Civet is compared a lot to the North American Raccoon. They have both adapted well to living near humans. They have similar facial markings. They are also omnivorous in their eating habits. The Asian Palm Civet is nocturnal and solitary except for mating season. Other than seeing its habits through captive breeding, wild Asian Palm Civets mating and raising their young is largely unknown. Each Toddy cat has its own territory and only goes into other territories when it does not have enough food. To communicate with other Toddy Cats, it uses scent marking that it puts down by rubbing its scent glands on the ground. These civets are mostly silent but will make noises like meowing, hissing, snarling, and spitting. For more information Check out my References Below.
Asian Palm Civet Facts https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Paradoxurus_hermaphroditus/ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-24034029 http://animalia.bio/asian-palm-civet The Asian Palm Civet and the Kopi luwak coffee industry https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/04/160429-kopi-luwak-captive-civet-coffee-Indonesia/ www.businessinsider.com/kopi-luwak-cat-poop-worlds-most-expensive-coffee-taste-test-2018-11%3famp Any coffee lovers out there? If so then raise that virtual hand in the comments below and let me know what your favorite coffee is.
This is your fellow coffee lover, the Asian Palm Civet and its coffee of choice are the sweetest and ripest of coffee cherries. You may know the Asian Palm Civet more by its controversial poop that contains Kopi Luwak, or partially digested coffee cherries that are used to make the most expensive coffee in the world (about $35-$100 expensive). This coffee is not just controversial for being poop coffee but also because of the inhuman ways that people get the Kopi Luwak from the Asian Palm Civet. The Asian Palm Civets are captured, caged, and fed only coffee cherries which is only one small part of its omnivorous diet. If I was stuck in a small cage with only coffee cherries to eat, then that caffeine or sugar high energy would drive me crazy. Unfortunately for the Asian Palm Civet, this inhuman treatment does cause them to go insane. More details on the Asian Palm Civet in next week’s close ups. Before 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to make a memorial post for my guinea pig Tilly who passed away on December 22 and send a message to everyone who has experienced loss this year.
This is for everyone who lost a loved one, human or animal baby, due to COVID-19 or something unrelated. This is to everyone who experienced loss in other parts of live such as your sense of security and safety physically, emotionally, and mentally. I am so sorry for your loss. COVID-19 and how it has affected your life regardless of how directly or indirectly, major or seemingly minor, is hard. Death never gets easier and the threat of sickness and death to ourselves and loved ones is exhausting. Your pain and hurt is legitimate. I hope you can all grieve in the ways you need to and reach out to others for help if you need it. I hope you can take comfort in the good memories and grow from the bad. I hope you can take this new you and find hope in the prospect of making new memories with new and future loved ones. I hope you stay safe and well. I will see you next year! My Saint Nicholas's Reindeer for Instagram @wildlifewednesdaychallenge @ecowarrior8888, @lizzywatercolor #wildlifewednedaychallenge Instead of looking at the Reindeer animal (which I will definitely come back to in the future), I decided to look into the lore behind Santa’s Reindeer. The first publicly written account of Santa's Reindeer was in the "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in the Troy Sentinel in Troy, New York on Dec. 23, 1823. It is better known today as "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and it's writer, although anonymous at first, was later revealed to be either Clement Clark Moore or Henry Livingston, Jr. On a side note, this had a fun court case in 2013 called Livingston vs Moore in Troy, NY. This court had actors for Moore and Livingston, used real lawyers, and chose jurors from the audience. Back to my reindeer, I focused on bits of the original "Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas" for inspiration such as the descriptions of the reindeers' flying as "More rapid than eagles" and "like the down of a thistle". I also enjoyed watching Animalogic "Reindeer are Ridiculously Cute" video on Youtube and their explanation of how Santa's Reindeer are probably all female or young males.
I hope you are all well and have a safe fun Holiday Season! References https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUgANOoMW00 : Animalogic “Reindeer are Ridiculously Cute” Youtube https://www.brownstoner.com/history/walkabout-a-visit-from-st-nichols-a-troy-story/ : “Walkabout: A Visit From St. Nicholas, a Troy Story” by Suzanne Spellen http://www.henrylivingston.com/xmas/poemvariants/troysentinel1823.htm Original print of ACCOUNT OF A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS
During Irish wakes, people would light pipes and smoke to help confuse evil spirits. They would also light candles by the head and foot of the bed of the deceased. I wish I could find more information on their Cait Sidhe’s interesting lore. If you would like to learn more check out my links below. Cait Sidhe
https://www.scotclans.com/cat-sith-celtic-mythology/ https://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/news-offers/scottish-folklore-cat-sith-cu-sith Irish Wakes https://www.connollycove.com/insight-irish-wake-superstitions-associated/ https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/the-truth-about-the-irish-wake-lewd-songs-pranks-were-part-of-the-tradition-174087771-237533321.amp https://andersonfuneralservices.com/blogs/blog-entries/1/Articles/35/The-History-of-a-Traditional-Irish-Wake.html Scottish Wakes http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/jbeatty/Scotia/issue57/issue57b.html Happy Friday the 13th!
This is my Cat Sìth Scottish Wildcat for the Instagram @UndyingTales #UndyingTalesProject. https://shadowscapes.com/undyingtales_2020_oct.php The Scottish wildcat are critically endangered and there may be only 35 or so left in the world. They are only found in the United Kingdom. The tale within my Scottish Wildcat design is of the Cat Sìth, aka Cait Sidhe or Celtic Fairy Cat. More details of this cat’s tale on my close up post. I've only done one other animal mythology piece (my Chinese Zodiac Rat for 2020) but the descriptions for the Instagram #UndyingTalesProject inspired me to consider creating more!
This is my Qilin with the deer parts of the body based off of Eld's Deer. Below is the description and if you are interested in the project check out this website: www.undyingtales.com I’m probably going to do many more of these. Do you like my version of a qilin? Do you think I should do more animal folklore? My Snowy Owl for the Instagram @wildlifewednesdaychallenge
With reference photos from Paul Bannick's photography and book “Owl: A Year in the Life of North American Owls” Some interesting fun facts I enjoyed learning in Bannick’s “Owl: A Year in the Life of North American Owls” book: The Snowy Owl male hunts for the food (mostly lemmings) and the female delivers the food to the babies. Sometimes, the female and nestlings get too hungry and the female must leave the nest to hunt. When this happens and the male returns to the nest, he seems unsure of how to feed them. According to Bannick's book, “... the male seems ill prepared, walking toward the youngsters and swinging the lemming back and forth. The young try to follow the prey with their heads but are unable to grab it. The female, upon seeing the male at the nest, emits a more desperate scream-whistle. She then flies aggressively toward the male and rips the prey from his bill before successfully delivering the lemming to the nestlings.” A bird irruption is a large number of birds migrating to areas where they are not commonly found. Experts believe snowy owl irruptions to not be because of lack of prey (especially lemmings) but more due to a lemming population spike during the last breeding season. More lemmings allow for more young owls to be successfully born and raised to adulthood. All these new snowy owls need a place to go. This is supported by the observation that most of the snowy owls in an irruption are relatively young. There are many other factors that could cause these irruptions too. Researchers are using bird banding and satellite tracking of these birds to learn more. Hope you enjoyed my close ups and fun facts! I’d love to hear your questions or comments about my Snowy Owl design in the comments below. 7 day challenge Day 7: Blanford’s Fox for @etherealwhisper89 on Instagram.
This final fox is a "true" vulpes genus fox. Only a few inches larger than the length of a fennec fox, Blanford’s fox is found in altitudes up to 2000 meters in the mountains, steppes, and semiarid areas of Israel, Afghanistan, and most other middle eastern countries. They have hairless feet and curved claws that help with climbing and jumping in the rocky steep slopes. They are omnivores but have been reported to eat more fruits (like grapes and melons) than other foxes. |
Artist and Blogger
I'm just a doodling artist. My current style started in a lecture class at MCLA where I began doodling in my notebooks. Now I've started a new series focusing on animals. Archives
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