It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 30% over the last three generations (inferred to be 15 years) and suspected to be more than 30% in the next three generations due to declines in population inferred from habitat destruction and degradation.

[4] The upperparts (from nose to tail tip, including outer surfaces of the four limbs) are dark brown to blackish brown and the underparts (from the chin to the tip of the tail and the inner surface of all four limbs) are white or slightly brownish white.

[4][5] The face has dark rings around the eyes and very long, white facial whiskers (sensory hairs) and the large, wet snout (rhinarium) has a contrasting flesh colour.

[7] A few recent sightings exist, including a capture in Brunei (which was subsequently released)[4] and a photo taken by a camera trap in lowland forest of Kinabalu National Park in Sabah.

[11] The previous largest series of encounters from one locality consisted of four specimens collected between 1945 and 1949 by Tom Harrisson in the nearby Kelabit Highlands,[12] suggesting that this part of Sarawak may be the prime habitat of the species.

[4] Little is known about the diet of Hose's civet in the wild, though it is thought to forage on small fish, shrimps, crabs, frogs and insects[4][12] among mossy boulders and streams.

The sole individual ever in captivity ate only meat and fish and not fruit, the preferred diet of all other viverrids in Borneo.

[1] Currently, the basic factors likely to determine the long-term future of the Hose's civet, such as population densities, degree of dependency on old-growth forest, ranging and dispersal patterns and others, are entirely unknown, making specific conservation measures impossible.