An African civet (Civetticus civetta) that had been rescued and found a home at the Popcorn Park Zoo. I don't know the history of this particular animal, but civets are often "farmed" for civetone, an ingredient used in expensive perfumes that is found in a substance secreted from a gland near their anus (the civets aren't killed; a spoon is used in the process). Civetone can be created synthetically, but some companies still prefer the natural stuff, and strangely enough some wildlife biologists have found perfumes containing civetone to be useful to their research. Jaguars seem especially drawn to it, so some field workers carry around bottles of "Obsession" in addition to their other gear.
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tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
A winning photo of a Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Galbula ruficauda.
Image: Marcelo Ismar Santana.
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POPCORN HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!