76 



The Living Animals of the World 



Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.] [Parson's Green. 



AFRICAN CIVET. 



This photograph shows the finely marked fur of the species and the front view 

 of the head. 



Southern Europe for killing 

 rats. Several other very 

 similar forms are found in 

 Africa. The presence of such 

 a very Oriental-looking animal 

 in Europe is something of a 

 surprise, though many persons 

 forget that our South European 

 animals are very like those 

 of Africa and the East. The 

 porcupine, which is common 

 in Italy and Spain, and the 

 lynx and Barbary ape are 

 instances. A tame genet 

 kept by an acquaintance of 

 the writer in Italy was abso- 

 lutely domesticated like a 

 tame mongoose. It had very 

 pretty fur, grey, marbled and 



spotted with black, and no disagreeable odour, except a scent of musk. It was a most active 

 little creature, full of curiosity, and always anxious to explore not only every room, but every 

 cupboard and drawer in the house. Perhaps this was due to its keenness in hunting mice, 

 a sport of which it never tired. It did not play with the mice when caught as a cat does, 

 but ate them at once. 



The LINSANGS, an allied group, are met with in the East, from India to Borneo and 

 Java. They are more slender than the genets, and more arboreal. Of the NEPALESE LINSANG 

 Hodgson writes : " This animal is equally at home on trees and on the ground. It breeds 

 and dwells in the hollows of decaying trees. It is not gregarious, and preys mainly on living 

 animals." A tame female owned by him is stated to have been wonderfully docile and tractable, 

 very sensitive to cold, and very fond of being petted. There is an allied West African species. 

 The PALM-CIVETS and HEMIGALES still further increase this numerous tribe. Slight 

 differences of skull, of the markings on the tail, which may only have rings on the base, 

 and of the foot and tail, are the naturalist's guide to their separation from the other 

 civets; HARDWICKE'S HEMIGALE has more zebra-like 

 markings. Borneo, Africa, India, and the Himalaya 

 all produce these active little carnivora; but the 

 typical palm-civets are Oriental. They are sometimes 

 known as Toddy-cats, because they drink the toddy 

 from the jars fastened to catch the juice. The groves 

 of cocoanut-palm are their favourite haunts ; but they 

 will make a home in holes in the thatched roofs of 

 houses, and even in the midst of cities. There are 

 many species in the group. 



The BINTURONG is another omnivorous, tree- 

 haunting animal allied to the civets ; but it has a 

 prehensile tail, which few other mammals of the Old 

 World possess. It is a blunt-nosed, heavy animal, 

 sometimes called the Bear-cat. Very little is known 

 of its habits. It is found from the Eastern Himalaya 



to Java. Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S.] [North Flnddey. 



The last of the Civet Family is BENNETT'S CIVET, SUMATRA* CIVET. 



.1 ,. ,, ,1-1' i -,i A small and very beautiful member of the Civet Family. It 



the only instance 01 a cat-like animal with partly feeds largely on fish. 



