C

emong sat on a busway barrier near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta during Car Free Day on Sunday. She happily munched on some grapes while her owner bathed her with bottled water.

“It keeps her cool and calm,” owner Bian Wafariz Alfian told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

Cemong is a 3-year-old luwak pandan (Asian palm civet), with pandan referring to the animal’s characteristics and odor. She is the size of a cat and loves licking and climbing on her owner.

Bian is a member of Musang Lovers Jakarta, a community for owners of all types of ferrets, including civets and otters, which has 16,000 online members. There are at least six such communities in Jakarta whose purpose, other than to provide care advice to fellow members, is to show that ferrets are friendly pets.

“They’re lower maintenance than dogs or cats. They eat almost anything — fruits, vegetables, chicken — while they only need washing once a month and vaccination once a year,” said Bian.

Ferrets were not always a common choice of pet, despite being a fairly commonplace animal — except the endangered Binturong species native to Kalimantan — because they are considered pests notorious for hunting poultry and pet birds, or as a working animal in the production of civet coffee. They are also considered fierce because of their exposed claws and sharp teeth.

The rising popularity of ferrets as pets is attributable to Ray Chaerudin, an animal coach and chairman of the Indonesia Ferret Lovers community, who was the first person to successfully domesticate and promote civets as household pets.

Its stereotype remains, however, as Car Free Day onlookers stopped and stared at Cemong on Sunday. Bian invited onlookers to pet Cemong, with some stroking, poking or refusing to come near her, while one curious toddler was yanked away from Cemong by his mother before he got near the civet.

Meanwhile, a few meters from Cemong was Onii-chan, a 2-year-old male musang bulan (masked palm civet). Musang bulan are larger than luwak pandan, as they are usually the size of a small dog, but with stumpier legs.

“It was my wife who named him, she was inspired by watching TV shows,” jested owner Medi Santoso on Sunday, in reference to Onii-chan, the honorific Japanese word for older brother.

Medi is a member of the Central Jakarta branch of the Indonesia Ferret Lovers community. He said another appeal of ferrets was their close bond with their owners. Medi himself only raised Onii-chan from 3 to 7 months old, yet the civet will always follow him around by the scent of his feet.

Medi added that other exotic pet communities often gathered near Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Car Free Day, such as reptile and sugar glider communities.

“We are all animal lovers and we all want to show that these animals can be pets,” he said.

Medi advises new owners to acquire ferrets from Facebook page Rumah Adopsi Musang Lovers Indonesia (Indonesia Ferret Lovers Adoption House), because they can get tailored advice from animal lovers there. (nor)