Musang (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus | Asian palm civet)
Musang is a mammal native to Asia, like the Philippines. Although it looks like a cat with a longer body and tail, it is more related to the Palawan bearcat.
It is a nocturnal species and feeds on both fruits and other animals.
Today, the National Museum of the Philippines is featuring Philippine animals depicted in the New Generation Currency series in your 20, 50, 100, and 200 bills.
The 20-peso bill depicts a musang, a mammal native to many Asian countries. It is a nocturnal animal and prefers to stay on top of trees in search of a variety of fruits and smaller animals. What made civets popular is the controversial and expensive civet coffee, with claims of having richer tastes after passing through the digestive tract of this species. While civet coffee is harvested sustainably in many parts of the country, there are unethical civet coffee farms elsewhere.
Text by Jasmin C. Meren / NMP Zoology Division, photos by Ruth Francisco and Micky Lim
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