THE CIVET FAMILY— CAT-FOOTED CIVETS. 



141 



head is more pointed, the body more slender and 

 the ears are longer, and it lacks a mane. Its ground 

 color is a dingy brownish yellow, with dark russet 

 colored spots. On the spine these spots merge into 

 one large, black band : on the sides they fade. A 



THE LESSER CIVET, OR RASSE. One of the smallest of the Viverrine. or musk-bearing family. 



markings resemble those of the African more than the Asiatic Civets, but it is much smaller than either of the oth 

 although its tail is proportionately longer. It is an inhabitant of India. [Viverra malaccensis.) 



The Rasse inhabits all India, except the country 



of the Indus and Western Rajputana. It is much 



valued in its native country for the sake of its civet, 



which is there put to the most varied uses. This 



secretion is usually mixed with some other perfume 



and is not only sprinkled 



\ on dresses, but is also 



used for the scenting of 



rooms and beds in a 



manner that is perfectly 



unbearable by European 



noses. 



The Genettes— The Sllb- 

 The Common order of 

 Genette. the Gen- 



ettes (Genetta) is distin- 

 guished by a very long 

 body, a hairless stripe 

 on the soles, five-toed 

 fore and hind paws fur- 

 nished with retractile 

 claws and a long tail. 

 The Genettes also have 

 a shallow civet-pouch at 

 the root of the tail. 



The best known spe- 

 cies of these animals is 

 the Common Genette 

 {Viverra genetta), the 

 only Civet inhabiting 

 Europe. It bears a great 

 resemblance to its rela- 

 tives which have already 

 been described and even 



full-grown animal has a body thirty-two inches long, its coloring is similar. The body is twenty inches 

 the tail is twenty-two inches long and the shoulder- long, its tail sixteen inches and its height at the 

 height is fifteen inches. It weighs from sixteen to shoulders is from six to seven inches. The body 

 twenty-four pounds. 



The Asiatic Civet has 

 been widely spread by 

 the Malays who call it 

 "Tinggalong." Accord- 

 ing to Blanford it is in- 

 digenous to Bengal, As- 

 sam, Burmah, southern 

 China and the Malay 

 Peninsula. The Asiatic 

 Civet leads a solitary 

 life and prowls around 

 at night, not infrequent- 

 ly visiting human dwell- 

 ings and stealing Chick- 

 ens and Ducks. It also 

 eats fruit and roots, in- 

 sects, Frogs, Snakes, 

 eggs, birds and all mam- 

 mals it can subdue. 

 The Lesser A Civet now 

 Civet, or frequently 

 Rasse. seen in zoo- 

 logical gardens is the 

 Lesser Civet or Rasse 

 (Viverra malaccensis). It 

 is considerably smaller 

 than the Asiatic Civet, 

 but its tail is much 



longer; the length of its body is about twenty-four 

 inches, the tail measuring nearly as much. Its head 

 is narrow and its ears very long. The rough fur is 

 grayish brown, tinged with black, showing rows of 

 dark spots, and the tail has several dark rings. 



THE COMMON GENETTE. 



but bloodthirsty animal, with a beau 



in the picture, especially in the Snake-like attitude of the anin 



of movement are remarkable. ( Viverra genetta.) 



Its agile 

 the backgr 



•und. Its quickn 



. well as stealth 



rests on extremely short legs and is very slender. 

 The head is small and distinguished by a long snout 

 and wide ears. The pupil of the eye is like that of 

 a Cat, having a slit-like appearance in the daytime. 

 The pouch secretes only a small quantity of a fatty 



