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 LESSEB CIVET, OR BASSE. One of the smallest of the Viverrine, or musk-bearing family. Its 



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

 although its tail is proportionately longer. It is an mhabitant of India. {Viverra malaccensis.) 



full-grown animal has a body thirty-two inches long, 

 the tail is twenty-two inches long and the shoulder- 

 height is fifteen inches. It weighs from sixteen to 

 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 mamr 

 mals it can subdue. 

 The Leaser A Civet now 

 Civetyor frequently 

 Raase. 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 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 sub- 

 The Common order of 

 Genette. the Gen- 

 ettps (Geneita) 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 a-lso 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 

 its coloring is similar. The body is twenty inches 

 long, its tail sixteen inches and its height at the 

 shoulders is from six to seven inches. The body 



THE COMMON GENETTE. One ot the prettiest of all creatures is the Common Genette, a small, graceful, 



but bloodthirsty animal, with a beautifully marked and valuable fur. Its agile but wary movements are well shown 

 in the picture, especially in the Snake-like attitude of the animal in the background. Its quickness as well as stealth 

 of movement are remarkable. ( Viverra genetta.') 



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, ha.ving.a slit-like appearance in the daytime. 

 The pouch secretes only a small quantity of a fatty 



