All Topics  
African Civet

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

African Civet
 
 
  Topics African Civet Topic Home

The African Civet is a common viverrid
Civet

The family Viverridae is made up of 35 species, including all of the genet , the Binturong, most of the civets, and the four linsangs.Viverrids are native to most of the Old World tropics, nearly all of Africa , Madagascar, and the Iberian Peninsula....
 native to tropical Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
. Unlike many other members of the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
, which resemble cat
Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
s, the African Civet resembles a short dog
Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
-like animal. Its coarse coat varies but is usually an ornate pattern of black and white contrasting bands and blotches, with a white face mask and black eye patches (like that of a raccoon
Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most widespread species, the Raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are considerably lesser-known....
) and a pale muzzle. Like all civets it has perianal gland
Gland

A gland is an Organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface ....
s that produce a fluid known as civetone
Civetone

Civetone is a cyclic ketone and one of the oldest perfume ingredients known. It is a pheromone sourced from the African Civet. It has a strong musky odor that becomes pleasant at extreme dilutions....
 (used in the perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
 industry), which it spreads on markers in its territory to claim its range.

The African Civet ranges across Sub-Saharan
Saharan

The term "Saharan" is used in the English language to denote someone or something from the Sahara desert.You may be looking for* Sahara Desert* Sahrawi , referring to the people of the Western Sahara...
 Africa (except Somalia
Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
) and most of Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
, Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
 and South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'African Civet'
Start a new discussion about 'African Civet'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The African Civet is a common viverrid
Civet

The family Viverridae is made up of 35 species, including all of the genet , the Binturong, most of the civets, and the four linsangs.Viverrids are native to most of the Old World tropics, nearly all of Africa , Madagascar, and the Iberian Peninsula....
 native to tropical Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
. Unlike many other members of the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
, which resemble cat
Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
s, the African Civet resembles a short dog
Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
-like animal. Its coarse coat varies but is usually an ornate pattern of black and white contrasting bands and blotches, with a white face mask and black eye patches (like that of a raccoon
Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most widespread species, the Raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are considerably lesser-known....
) and a pale muzzle. Like all civets it has perianal gland
Gland

A gland is an Organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface ....
s that produce a fluid known as civetone
Civetone

Civetone is a cyclic ketone and one of the oldest perfume ingredients known. It is a pheromone sourced from the African Civet. It has a strong musky odor that becomes pleasant at extreme dilutions....
 (used in the perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
 industry), which it spreads on markers in its territory to claim its range.

The African Civet ranges across Sub-Saharan
Saharan

The term "Saharan" is used in the English language to denote someone or something from the Sahara desert.You may be looking for* Sahara Desert* Sahrawi , referring to the people of the Western Sahara...
 Africa (except Somalia
Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
) and most of Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
, Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
 and South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
. It lives in forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
s, both dense rainforest
Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750?2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests....
, or in partly forested mosaic
Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or Natural_environment area that is inhabited by a particular animal or plant species. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population....
s, as well as in drier country where cover exists (along watercourses or rock outcroppings). Although they are frequently taken by snares
Trapping (Animal)

The activity of animal trapping has two separate but related meanings. It describes the hunting of mammals to obtain their furs, which are then used for clothes and other articles, or sold / bartered ....
 left out for jackal
Jackal

A jackal is a member of any of three small to medium-sized species of the family Canidae, found in Africa, Asia and southeastern Europe. Jackals fill a similar ecological niche to the coyote in North America, that of predators of small to medium-sized animals, scavengers, and omnivores....
s and are victims of roadkill
Roadkill

Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by motor vehicles. Mammals are the animals most likely to be recorded as roadkill....
, they are not considered threatened.

The African Civet is an omnivorous
Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eating both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively....
 generalist, taking both small vertebrates, invertebrates, eggs, carrion, and vegetable matter. It is capable of taking on poisonous invertebrates (such as the millipede
Millipede

Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of arthropod leg per segment . Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one....
s most other species avoid) and snakes, and tackling large prey items such as mongoose
Mongoose

A mongoose is a member of the family Herpestidae , a family of small, cat-like Carnivoras.The word mongoose is derived from the Marathi language name mangus "mongoose", perhaps ultimately from Dravidian languages ....
s and hare
Hare

Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Very young hares, less than one year old, are called leverets....
s. It forages by itself, and is a mostly solitary animal that avoids the presence of others of its species.