#trending: Netizens gush over rare sighting of 'cute' young civet at Queenstown coffee shop

SINGAPORE — A juvenile common palm civet, nocturnal by nature and rarely seen outside of forests and mangroves, was sighted at a coffee shop in Queenstown just after dawn on Friday (Nov 11).

Photos uploaded by nature enthusiast Brice Li on Facebook show the critter curled up on a section of pipe close to the ceiling, seemingly watching the coffee shop staff as they prepare drinks.

According to Mr Li's Facebook post, he was notified of the civet's appearance at Khong Guan Restaurant at Block 49, Stirling Road, by the coffee shop owner at 6.30am on Friday who initially thought it was a "raccoon".

He advised the owner to leave it alone or to call the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) if needed.

When he arrived at the coffee shop a few hours later, the civet was still around. He then assisted the staff to reach out to Acres and the National Parks Board (NParks), the latter of whom arrived in the afternoon, he wrote.

"It was even cuter in real life," Mr Li recounted.

In online comments, netizens have gushed over the creature, noting the irony of the civet settling down in, of all places, a coffee shop. Civets are prized in Southeast Asia for helping to produce some of the most expensive coffee in the world, most famously known as kopi luwak in Indonesia.

"Freshest kopi luwak ever," declared one Facebook user, while others joked about "Inspector Civet" supervising the coffee-making process.

Another dubbed it "Zorro" for its mask-shaped markings reminiscent of the masked vigilante created by an American pulp fiction writer.

Some also praised the coffee shop staff for keeping their cool and "not minding the surprise guest".

On the other hand, several expressed concern for the "poor thing", remarking that it looked "terrified".

"Looks cute but also dangerous for it and the Kopitiam staff," read one comment. "It might jump down into scalding water and scald itself and the staff making kopi."

In response, Mr Li noted: "I was told it messed up some condensed milk cans early in the morning when they just opened the shop."

But for the most part, the civet appeared to be content to simply watch from its perch.

In response to TODAY's queries, Mr How Choon Beng, Director of Wildlife Management and Outreach at NParks, said in a statement on Tuesday (Nov 15) that trained NParks contractors were dispatched to remove the animal on Friday.

He stated that civets like to stay in trees and high places, and may sometimes even venture to roof spaces of buildings in urban areas.

Under Mr Li's post, a Facebook user also claimed that there is a "resident civet cat" in the Stirling and Mei Ling area.

"One (resident) told me the resident civet cat will feed on fruits from her tree," she said.

Though commonly called "civet cats", civets are not related to the feline creatures.

When encountering a civet, Mr How said, one is advised to leave it alone.

"Civets are generally shy creatures and will stay out of sight.

"If you encounter a civet, do keep calm, observe from a safe distance, and do not corner or chase the animal."

Mr How added: "After it was removed, the civet was sent to the zoo for a health assessment where it was assessed by a veterinarian to be in poor condition.

"It had a poor body condition score, which reflected that it was not in a good shape prior to the sighting, and had also suffered some burns after coming into contact with the equipment in the coffeeshop.

"The civet was subsequently euthanised humanely on welfare grounds."