140 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



Structure The African Civet (Viverra civetta) 

 of the African attains the size of the average Dog, 

 Civet. but its looks are feline and its whole 



appearance reminds one very much of a Cat, al- 

 though it has also many points of resemblance to 

 a W easel. The broad, rounded head ends in a rather 

 pointed snout ; the ears are also pointed and the 

 eyes, which have round pupils, are obliquely placed 

 in the face. The body is elongated but not particu- 

 larly slender, being among the stoutest in this group; 

 the tail is about half the length of the body ; the 

 legs are of medium length and the soles are entirely 

 covered with hair. The fur is not very long, but 

 thick and coarse ; a rather long mane or crest, which 

 the animal can erect at will, extends along the neck 

 and spine and is still perceptible on the tail. The 

 ground-color is a beautiful ashen-gray merging into 

 yellow, and shows numerous irregular black-brown 

 spots, which on the hind legs form distinct stripes. 

 The crest or mane is brownish-black, and the under 



In captivity it is kept in special stables or cages 

 and is fed with meat and poultry. When taken 

 young it not only bears the loss of its liberty much 

 better than when captured old, but soon gets tame 

 and familiar. The strong odor of musk which cap- 

 tive Civets give forth renders them almost unbear- 

 able to people with sensitive olfactory nerves. 



African Ciuets Alpinus saw Civets kept in iron 

 Valued cages by Jews in Cairo. They 



for their Perfume. were f e d exclusively with meat to 

 increase their production of civet and render them 

 a profitable investment. In his presence some civet 

 was extracted from them and he had to pay an ex- 

 tremely high price for it. These animals were at one 

 time kept for this purpose in European cities also, 

 like Lisbon, Naples, Rome, Venice, and even in Ger- 

 many, and especially in Holland. 



To obtain the perfume, the animal is tied to the 

 stakes of its cage ; the pouch is turned out with 

 the fingers and the civet is expressed from all the 



THE AFRICAN CIVET. This is a typical member of the Viverrine family of carnivorous mammals. He is shown in his native Guinea 



forest where he frequently climbs trees to rob birds' nests of their eggs. The long body with spots of brownish black and a crest of long hairs of 

 the same color extending from the nape of the neck along the spine and tail ; the rounded head with its Weasel-like expression and the white 

 stripe on the side of the neck are characteristic features of the African Civet. {Viverra civetta.) 



portion of the body is, as usual, lighter. The tail, 

 which is thickly clothed with hairs at its root, shows 

 from six to seven black rings and its extremity is 

 black-brown. On both sides of the neck there is a 

 long, oblong, white stripe running backward. The 

 length of the body is about twenty-eight inches ; 

 the tail measures fourteen inches and the shoulder 

 height is about twelve inches. 



Home and The native country of this Civet is 

 Habits of Africa, chiefly the western part of the 

 African Ciuets. Continent ; that is, Upper and Lower 

 Guinea. In the eastern half of Africa only a few 

 scattered specimens may be met. Its habits are 

 like those of the majority of the Civet family, 

 mainly nocturnal. It sleeps during the day and 

 starts out in the evening to look for small mammals 

 and birds. It is said that eggs form its favorite 

 food and that it will even climb trees for the sake 

 of securing them. 



glands terminating in the pouch. As a rule it is 

 taken from the pouch twice a week, but the amount 

 obtained varies very much. Freshly expressed it is 

 a white foam, which, after a time, becomes brown 

 and loses a little of its strength. The perfume 

 offered for sale as civet, is, for the greater part, 

 only imitation, and even the genuine civet must go 

 through a series of processes before it is fit for use. 

 The best is said to come from the Asiatic Civet, and 

 is brought from Boorou. The Javanese Civet is also 

 said to be superior to the Bengalese and African 

 kinds. During recent years the trade in civet has 

 fallen off greatly, for vegetable musk is being more 

 and more substituted for it. 



The Asiatic Nearly all I have said about the Afri- 

 Ciuet can Civet may be applied to the Asi- 



Described. a ti c Civet {Viverra zibethd), which, for 

 a long time, was taken for a variety of the African 

 species. Its color and markings are different; its 



