The Civet has a short dense fur that is a greyish colour with black spots in rows across their bodies. They also have striped markings including a black coloured band over their face and eyes on a white background, making it look similar to a racoon. Their head and body length is 680-890mm and their tail is very long around 450mm and they weigh anything from 7-20kg. They also have non-retractable claws and have 40 sharp teeth which they use in their omnivorous diet including carrion, rodents, birds, eggs reptiles, frogs, crabs, insects, fruits and vegetation. Occasionally, poultry and lambs will be taken. Civets are primarily nocturnal and are most active at night a couple of hours after sunset where they usually start by eating insects, rodents, birds and sometimes even scavenge for fruits. The female Civets become sexually active at 1 year old and they give birth to 2 or 3 litters in a year which are comprised of 1-4 young per litter. The Civet is a solitary cat except when breeding, but not much more is known about it’s behaviour because it is nocturnal and lives a secretive lifestyle. However, knowledge about how they mark territories by rubbing secretions on objects is well-established. Civets are found in forests and in open country, but they always select areas which offer some covering such as long grasses where they can sleep and hide in the daytime, and they usually pick places that have a permanent source of water, being a water dependent animal. Civets generally inhabits savannah and forests in southern and central Africa.
Courtesy of Wild in Africa./flickr