The Fossa, Civets, and Ichneumons 



THE CIVETS AND GENETS. 



75 



TITE CIVETS are the first marked deviation from the Cat Family. Their bodies are elongated, 

 their legs short, their claws only partially retractile. Some of them have glands holding 

 a strong scent, much esteemed in old days in Europe, when " The Civet Cat " was a common 

 inn-sign even in England. The civets are generally beautifully marked with black stripes and 

 bands on grey. But none of them grow to any large size, and the family has never had the 

 importance of those which contain the large carnivora, like the true cats or bears. Many of the 

 tribe and its connections are domesticated. Some scholars have maintained that the cat of 

 the ancient Greeks was one of them the common genet. The fact is that both this and 

 the domestic cat were kept by the ancients ; and the genet is still used as a cat by the 

 peasants of Greece and Southern Italy. 



The AFRICAN CIVET and INDIAN CIVET are large species. The former is common almost 

 throughout Africa. Neither of them seems to climb trees, but they find abundance of food 

 by catching small ground-dwelling animals and birds. They are good swimmers. The Indian 

 civet has a handsome skin, of a beautiful grey ground-colour, with black collar and markings. 

 It is from these civets that the civet-scent is obtained. They are kept in cages for this 

 purpose, and the secretion is scooped from the glands with a wooden spoon. They produce 

 three or four kittens in May or June. Several other species very little differing from these 

 are known as the MALABAR, JAVAN, and BURMESE CIVETS. 



The KASSE is smaller, has no erectile crest, and its geographical distribution extends from 

 Africa to the Far East. It is commonly kept as a domestic pet. Like all the civets, it will 

 eat fruit and vegetables. 



The GENETS, though resembling the civets, have no scent-pouch. They are African 

 creatures, but are found in Italy, Spain, and Greece, and in Palestine, and even in the 

 south of France. Beautifully spotted or striped, they are even longer and lower than the 

 civet-cats, and steal through the grass like weasels. 



The COMMON GENET is black and grey, the latter being the ground-colour. The tail is 

 very long, the length being about 15 inches, while that of the body and head is only 

 19 inches. Small rodents, snakes, eggs, find birds are its principal food. It is kept in 



Photo by A. S. Jiudland & Sons. 



AFEICAX CIVET. 



This is one of the largest of the Civet Tribe. The perfume known as " civet " is obtained from it. 



