Unit 6 (Mijbil the Otter)
Baby Bhakat, the civet cat
Describe Bhakat and what civet cats are like.
Meet Bhakat. Baby Bhakat is a three-month-old civet cat, also called a toddy cat because civets live in palm trees and love the sweet palm sap. He fell from his nest in a coconut tree. Villagers took him to Dharini, who rescues animals, and his wife Anjali cares for him in their thatched hut by a river in Assam.
What he eats. He is omnivorous: he eats both plants and animals. He likes fruit, loves meat, and does not care for vegetables. He also eats snails, which damage gardens; so he keeps the balance of life in the garden. (Snails, not rats: the video gets this wrong.)
Built for the night and the trees.
- Large eyes: he is nocturnal, awake at night, and big eyes gather more light.
- A long tail: he is arboreal, living in trees, and the tail helps him balance.
- He naps up in the rafters of the hut.
The flood. When the monsoon floods the hut, Bhakat stays dry by sitting on the fence. He hates being in water. The hut's doors are left open so he can come and go: he is a wild animal being prepared to return to the wild, not a pet kept in.
A new word: brunch. A meal between breakfast and lunch (breakfast + lunch). Bhakat eats his midnight snacks and brunch like a member of the family.
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