The Living Animals of the World, Volume I: Mammals
LARGE INDIAN CIVET.
mews, though, when irritated or frightened, it Civets are nocturnal in their habits. That shown here has just awakened gives a kind of hiss like a cat. in broad daylight. 74
The Fossa, Civets, and Ichneumons 75
THE CIVETS AND GENETS.
TITE CIVETS are the first marked deviation from the Cat Family. Their bodies are elongated, their legs short, their claws only partially retractile. Some of them have glands holding a strong scent, much esteemed in old days in Europe, when " The Civet Cat " was a common inn-sign even in England. The civets are generally beautifully marked with black stripes and bands on grey. But none of them grow to any large size, and the family has never had the importance of those which contain the large carnivora, like the true cats or bears. Many of the tribe and its connections are domesticated. Some scholars have maintained that the cat of the ancient Greeks was one of them the common genet. The fact is that both this and the domestic cat were kept by the ancients; and the genet is still used as a cat by the peasants of Greece and Southern Italy. is common almost The AFRICAN CIVET and INDIAN CIVET are large species. The former throughout Africa. Neither of them seems to climb trees, but they find abundance of food by catching small ground-dwelling animals and birds. They are good swimmers. The Indian civet has a handsome skin, of a beautiful grey ground-colour, with black collar and markings. It is from these civets that the civet-scent is obtained. They are kept in cages for this purpose, and the secretion is scooped from the glands with a wooden spoon. They produce three or four kittens in May or June. Several other species very little differing from these are known as the MALABAR, JAVAN, and BURMESE CIVETS.
The KASSE is smaller, has no erectile crest, and its geographical distribution extends from Africa to the Far East. It is commonly kept as a domestic pet. Like all the civets, it will eat fruit and vegetables. The GENETS, though resembling the civets, have no scent-pouch. They are African creatures, but are found in Italy, Spain, and Greece, and in Palestine, and even in the south of France. Beautifully spotted or striped, they are even longer and lower than the civet-cats, and steal through the grass like weasels. tail is The COMMON GENET is black and grey, the latter being the ground-colour. The very long, the length being about 15 inches, while that of the body and head is only 19 inches. Small rodents, snakes, eggs, find birds are its principal food. It is kept in
Photo by A. S. Jiudland & Sons.
AFEICAX CIVET.
This is one of the largest of the Civet Tribe. The perfume known as " civet " is obtained from it.
of the World76 The Living Animals
Southern Europe for killing rats. Several other very similar forms are found in Africa. The presence of such a very Oriental-looking animal in Europe is something of a surprise, though many persons forget that our South European animals are very like those of Africa and the East. The porcupine, which is common in Italy and Spain, and the lynx and Barbary ape are instances. A tame genet kept by an acquaintance of
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.] [Parson's Green. the writer in Italy was abso- AFRICAN CIVET. This photograph shows the finely marked fur of the species and the front view lutely domesticated like a of the head. tame mongoose. It had very pretty fur, grey, marbled and spotted with black, and no disagreeable odour, except a scent of musk. It was a most active little creature, full of curiosity, and always anxious to explore not only every room, but every cupboard and drawer in the house. Perhaps this was due to its keenness in hunting mice, a sport of which it never tired. It did not play with the mice when caught as a cat does, but ate them at once. The LINSANGS, an allied group, are met with in the East, from India to Borneo and Java. They are more slender than the genets, and more arboreal. Of the NEPALESE LINSANG : " This animal is equally at home on trees and on the ground. It breedsHodgson writes and dwells in the hollows of decaying trees. It is not gregarious, and preys mainly on living animals." A tame female owned by him is stated to have been wonderfully docile and tractable, very sensitive to cold, and very fond of being petted. There is an allied West African species.
The PALM-CIVETS and HEMIGALES still further increase this numerous tribe. Slight differences of skull, of the markings on the tail, which may only have rings on the base, and of the foot and tail, are the naturalist's guide to their separation from the other civets; HARDWICKE'S HEMIGALE has more zebra-like markings. Borneo, Africa, India, and the Himalaya all produce these active little carnivora; but the typical palm-civets are Oriental. They are sometimes known as Toddy-cats, because they drink the toddy from the jars fastened to catch the juice. The groves of cocoanut-palm are their favourite haunts; but they will make a home in holes in the thatched roofs of houses, and even in the midst of cities. There are many species in the group.
The BINTURONG is another omnivorous, tree-haunting animal allied to the civets; but it has a prehensile tail, which few other mammals of the Old World possess. It is a blunt-nosed, heavy animal, is knownsometimes called the Bear-cat. Very little of its habits. It is found from the Eastern Himalaya to Java. Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S.] [North Flnddey. CIVET. SUMATRA* is BENNETT'S CIVET, Family of member A small and very beautiful the Civet Family. It,1-1' The,.lastinstanceof the 01Civet,, a cat-like animal i with-,i fish. on.1the only feeds largely partly
The Fossa, Civets, and Ichneumons 77
it is very rare, butwebbed feet. Found in the Malay Peninsula and in Sumatra and Borneo, is known to feed on fish and Crustacea, and to be semi-aquatic. The author of the chapter otter."on the civets in the Naturalist's Library says, " It may be likened to a climbing
THE MONGOOSE AND ICHNEUMON FAMILY.
THESE are a numerous and useful race of small mammals, feeding mainly on the creatures most annoying to man within tropical countries. Snakes, the eggs of the crocodile, large lizards, rats, mice, and other creatures known generally as "vermin," are their favourite food. .also kill allIt must be added that, though they are most useful in destroying these, they kinds of birds, and that their introduction into some of the West India Islands, for the purpose of killing rats, has been fatal to the indigenous bird life.
THE INDIAN MONGOOSE.
This universal favourite is one of the largest, the head and body being from 15 to
Photo ly A. S. Rudland & Sons. GENET. The genets are smaller than some civets, but allied to them. One was anciently domesticated like a cat.
is loose and long, and capable of being erected. 1 8 inches long, and the tail 14 inches. The fur As in all the tribe, the tint is a "pepper and salt," the "pepper" colour being sometimes blackish and sometimes red, but a speckled appearance characterises the whole group. This is extent, for itthe animal supposed to be immune from snake-bite. It is possibly so to some kills and eats the poisonous snakes, and it is now known that the eating of snake-poison tends to give the same protection as inoculation does against certain diseases. But it is certain that in most cases the mongoose, by its activity, and by setting up the hair on its strike short," saves itself from being bitten. body, which makes the snake "
Many descriptions of the encounters between these brave little animals and the cobra have : " One of our officers had a tame mongoose, abeen written. Here is one of the less known Whenever we could procure a cobra and we had many opportunitiescharming little pet. we used to turn it out in an empty storeroom, which had a window at some height from the cobra, when dropped ground, so that it was perfectly safe to stand there and look on. The from the bag or basket, would wriggle into one of the corners of the room and there coil himself up. The mongoose showed the greatest excitement on being brought to the window,
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and the moment he was let loose would eagerly jump down into the room, when his behaviour became very curious and interesting. He would instantly see where the snake was, and rounding his back, and making every hair on his body stand out at right angles, which made his body appear twice as large as it really was, he would approach the cobra on tip-toe, making a peculiar humming noise. The snake, in the meantime, would show signs of great anxiety, and I fancy of fear, erecting his head and hood ready to strike when his enemy came near enough. The mongoose kept running backwards and forwards in front of the snake, gradually getting to within what appeared to us to be striking distance. The snake would strike at him repeatedly, and appeared to hit him, but the mongoose continued his comic dance, apparently unconcerned. Suddenly, and with a movement so rapid that the eye could not follow it, he would pin the cobra by the back of the head. One could hear the sharp teeth crunch into the skull, and, when all was over, see the mongoose eating the snake’s head and part of his body with great gusto. Our little favourite killed a great many cobras, and, so far as I could see, never was bitten.”
The EGYPTIAN MONGOOSE, or ICHNEUMON, has an equally great reputation for eating the eggs of the crocodile; and the KAFFIR MONGOOSE, a rather larger South African species, is kept as a domestic animal to kill rats, mice, and snakes, of which, like the Indian kind, it is a deadly foe. There are more than twenty other species, most of much the same appearance and habits.
The smooth-nosed mongoose tribe are closely allied creatures in South Africa, mainly burrowing animals, feeding both on flesh and fruit. The CUSIMANSES of Abyssinia and West Africa are also allied to them. Their habits are identical with the above.
THE MEERKATS, OR SURICATES.
Most people who have read Frank Buckland’s Life will remember the suricate which was his chief pet in Albany Street. The SURICATES, or MEERKATS, burrow all over the South African veldt, especially in the sandy parts, where they sit up outside their holes like prairie-dogs, and are seen by day. They are sociable animals, and make most amusing pets. A full-grown one is not much larger than a hedgehog, but more slender. It barks like a prairie-dog, and has many other noises of pleasure or anger. A lady, the owner of one, writes in Country Life: “It gets on well with the dogs and cats, especially the latter, as they are more friendly to her, and allow her to sleep by their side and on the top of them. One old cat brings small birds