GENETS 77 



(2) The Small-Spotted Genet. " General colour pale 

 sandy, lighter than cream. Stripe along the centre of the 

 back jet black, and strongly marked, extending from 

 the neck to the base of the tail. Spots tawny, becoming 

 darker on the flanks, small, numerous, and in five or six 

 rows. Head nearly grey, lighter than the body. General 

 colour of forearm brownish black. Upper surface 

 yellower then the back part, and speckled with small 

 dark spots. Hind limbs below knee black. Tail covered 

 with long coarse hair, and with about ten rings."* 



This animal is much the most numerous of all the 

 smaller carnivora present in the eastern Transvaal low 

 country. It is arboreal in habit, and when pursued by 

 dogs, almost invariably takes to a tree, though on the 

 approach of the hunter it generally leaps to the ground 

 and attempts to make off. At such times it sometimes 

 accomplishes bounds of remarkable length. I remember 

 a genet leaping from a height of fifteen feet and landing 

 on the ground twenty-one feet from the base of the tree, 

 a big jump for an animal with a body less than two 

 feet long. Its pace on the ground is not very great, nor 

 does it make a particularly good fight against a dog ; 

 any plucky fox terrier can, in fact, kill one without 

 difficulty. 



The Small-Spotted Genet is found in forested country, 

 often at a considerable distance from water. It is solitary 

 and quite nocturnal by habit, spending the day in cavities 

 of trees, or stretched at full length along a branch ; 

 sometimes, though less frequently, it is found sleeping 

 in clumps of long grass, or in patches of thick bush. 

 Hollow trunks seem often to be used as permanent 

 quarters by the same individual. Any hole or cavity in a 

 rotten trunk in the forest is worth examining for signs of 

 * Thomas and Schwann. 



