Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure

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Fast Facts:

There is a one inch tall 'mane' from head to tail of the darker color that is erected when the animal is excited.
It is almost completely terrestrial, but loves the water and swims well.

Civet

Scientific Name	Civettictis civetta
Classification	Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Viverridae
Status	Not endangered
Range	Found from Senegal to Somalia and south to Namibia and eastern South Africa
Habitat	Forests and savannas, wherever long grass or thickets are sufficient to provide daytime cover
Diet	Their omnivorous diet includes carrion, rodents, birds, eggs, reptiles, frogs, crabs, insects, fruits and other vegetation
Size	Length: 24-36 inches long, tail length 17-24 inches Weight: 26-33 pounds
Lifespan	15-20 years in the wild.
Location
Print Fact Sheet	Civet

Special Features

The civet is a cunning-looking animal with a catlike body, long legs and a masked face resembling a raccoon or weasel. Their color is black with white or yellowish spots, stripes and bands. The long and coarse hair is very thick on the tail.
These animals have perianal glands anterior to the rectum that produce 'civet', an oily matter used in making certain perfumes . In some parts of Africa, natives keep civets in captivity and remove musk from them several times a week. An average animal yields 3-4 grams weekly. The natives do not raise the civets, they merely capture wild ones, and release them after the musk has been removed.
Nocturnal.

Social Structure & Behavior

Breeding & Care of Young
It uses a permanent burrow or nest only to bear young. It is solitary in nature and comes together with the opposite sex only to breed. Sexually mature at 12 months old. Gestation is 60-72 days resulting in a litter consisting of one to four young.