THE CIVET FAMILY 
239 
its teeth are more numerous; the canine or sharp-pointed teeth are 
smaller, and the back-teeth less scissor-like, bearing, especially in the 
palm civets, little blunt projections, so as to crush or grind. There 
is a pouch under the tail, in which an odorous substance is secreted. 
These animals are confined to regions of Asia and Africa, with the 
exception of one species that is European. 
The true civet cats, from which the musky substance called 
civet is obtained, are the representatives and chief members of the 
family. The fur is coarse, yellowish-gray in color, more or less spotted 
or striped with black, and forming an erect mane on the back. They 
feed chiefly upon flesh, but also on fruits and roots. 
The African civet is a native of those parts of the Dark 
Continent lying between the tropics. It is somewhat larger than a 
common fox, and, like some other species, is kept in confinement for 
the sake of its strong-smelling secretion, which is used in the manu¬ 
facture of perfumery. The odor is far too strong to be pleasant, 
unless the civet is diluted with oil or spirit. The Asiatic civet, 
about the same size as the African, has a wide range in the East, 
where the natives keep it in cages, and care for it that they may 
obtain from it the fatty substance from which the perfume is made. 
The tangalung, from Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines, 
and the Burmese civet, are of smaller size, but similar in habits. The 
spots of the latter are large and distinct. 
The Ichneumons are chiefly African, only the true ich¬ 
neumons ranging into Asia and Europe. They are also known as the 
mongoose. They vary in size from that of a large cat to that of a 
weasel, which animal many of them resemble in form. They live 
mostly on the ground, and feed on small mammals, birds, reptiles and 
their eggs, and insects. Some are domesticated as mousers and snake- 
killers. The common ichneumon of North Africa, found also in Spain, 
was a sacred animal among the ancient Egyptians. It is commonly 
domesticated at the present day, and makes an affectionate pet, and a 
capital servant in killing rats, mice, serpents, and lizards. The Indian 
ichneumon, or mongoose, is much smaller, with pale-gray fur. It is 
noted as a snake-killer; and while some maintain that it is proof against 
snake-poison, others declare that when bitten the mongoose rushes 
