THE CIVETS. 



I So 



vellowish-gray, with marbled patches ut black; 

 the short, sharp-pointed head shows some 

 longitudinal stripes; the pointed tail is ringed, 

 the ears are pretty broad but short, the pupils 

 have vertical slits, the very short teet ha\e 

 five toes armed with retractile claws. The 

 genet has in all 42 

 teeth. The molars 

 have several cusps, 

 the upper carnas- 

 sial is oblique 

 and sharp. The 

 premolars have 

 only a single sharp 

 lobe; the canines 

 are sharp and re- 

 curved. The musk- 

 pouch on the hip 

 is not very deep. 



The genet is 

 nocturnal in its 

 habits, but by day 

 does not sleep so 

 soundly that it is 

 not awakened by 

 the approach ot an 

 enemy or the pass- 

 ing of its prey. 

 Unparalleled is 

 the suppleness and 

 flexibility with 

 which it crawls on 

 its belly like a ser- 

 pent in order to 

 surprise a victim, which it finally seizes with 

 a spring. In dodging and gliding it is a true 

 artist, and indeed an elegant artist, and. thanks 

 to the facility with which it can insinuate 

 itself through the narrowest openings, it is a 

 prettv dangerous enemy for the poultr\--yards. 

 There it behaves like the marten, slaughtering 

 all the fowls it can catch. In spite of these 

 depredations it is not very fiercely pursued, 

 for it renders good service by the destruc- 

 tion of noxious rodents, and, if we leave out 

 of account occasional outbreaks ot blood- 



ig. 91. —The Asiauc or Indian Civei [ Vivtri-a Z:'ccti 



thirstiness, it maniicsts on the w iiolc a gentle 

 and agreeable disposition, and can e\"en be 

 so tar tamed as to respect the poultrv-\ ard 

 ot its master. It is prettv trequenth' kept in 

 certain districts as a domestic animal in place 

 ot the cat. Its strong musk odour, however, 



does not make it 

 welcome to everv 

 one. It is otten 

 hunted tor its tur; 

 but not much is 

 known about its 

 general mode ot 

 lite in a tree state. 

 I wo species ot 

 Civet-cats, the 

 African civet ( [ /:•- 

 crj-a Civet ia\, fig. 

 90, and the Asiatic 

 or I n l1 i a n c i \" e t 

 (/'. Z/A ■///(? ),fig. 91, 

 ha\'e acquired a 

 certain reputation 

 through yielding a 

 fraorant substance 

 known as ci\-et, 

 which is still prized 

 in the East, and 

 was formerly much 

 used in medicine. 

 Xow the use ot 

 \ this scent with us 

 is confined to the 

 pertumer, and even 

 with him it is getting more and more replaced 

 bv true musk deri\-ed from the musk-deer. In 

 tront of the anus, but in its immediate vicinity, 

 there is found in the civet-cats a longish slit 

 which leads into a wide pouch di\-ided by a 

 partition into two hairy pockets, into which 

 open a large number of glands secreting a sort 

 of wax like that which is formed in the ears. 

 These pouches are present in both sexes. In 

 certain districts in Africa as well as in India a 

 laro-e number of these animals are otten kept 

 in cao-es for the sake of the civet, which is 



