Description:
The African civet is 7-20 kg in weight, 68-89 cm in length, and 35-40 cm in height (Estes, 1991). This sturdy and long-legged mammal is the largest of the 66 species in the family Viverridae (Abebe, 2000). The civet has a high center of gravity and the tail serves as a balance so it is kept low and horizontal (Taylor, 1970). If the civet is relaxed, it will move freely with long strides and the head more upright. If it is scared or tense, it will lower its head and will walk very close to the ground with the tail horizontal. This allows the indivdual to use its coat as camouflage and avoid whatever they are scared of. Since the African civet’s faces can not move in many ways, the most important visual communication the civet can give is with the posture of its body. That is why the ways they walk is important (Kingdon, 1977).
The coat of the African civet varies with the location and habitat of the species, but it usually has a grayish colored background with dark spots and a thick stripe running down the back. This dark and camouflaged coat allows the species to move around freely even in large open terrains without being seen (Kingdon, 1977). The face has a unique black and white head; with black eyes, white lips, banded ears, and stripes around the neck. Their distinctive face masks are thought to be used for recognition of other individuals in the dark (Estes, 1991). The African civet’s recognizable facial masks and striped necks appear to be convergent with that of the American raccoon (Ray, 1995). A correlation made between having dark eye patches and being nocturnal, like the African civet, has to do with the eyes of the animal being very sensitive to light because they are nocturnal and not used to the light. The black surrounding their eyes serves as an area where any source of light, such as the moon, can be absorbed and help protect their eyes (Ortolani,1996). The species has five long non-retractable claws on each paw and the fifth claw is set back on the foot so it is not visible in the foot print. (Ray, 1995)
The African civet has been known to live up to 15 years of age (Kingdon, 1977).
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Habitat:
The African civet ranges throughout tropical Africa from 15 degrees N to 24 degrees S latitude and the east-west range is from Senegal all the way to the East coast African country of Djibouti (Kock, 2000; Ray, 1995, ). They live in forests, marshes, grassy savannas, reed beds, and in tall grasses and prefer to live near a water source, although it is not necessary for their survival (Kingdon, 1977). Wherever they live, they require some sort of long grasses and thickets around so they can hide in the day time (Ray, 1995).
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Feeding:
Since they are nocturnal species, they only gather food during the night. The African civet can eat a variety of foods including: vegetables, fruits, insects, snakes, lizards, birds, eggs, other invertebrates, and smaller vertebrates (Estes, 1991). They can even eat some fruits that would be poisonous to most other species. They are capable of consuming 2 kilos of food in one night and in spite of this, they can go without food for nearly 2 weeks (Kingdon, 1977). The digestive system of the African civet must be very unique and specialized to be able to deal with such a variety of foods. No research I am aware of has been done on this speculation.
The African civet will find hiding spots and wait for prey to come along and then they will pounce and kill it by biting with their strong jaws. They will sometimes administer the “death shake” to their prey. This is when the civet grabs the prey in their jaws and shakes it so violently that the backs of rodents, snakes, etc. will break. After the animal is dead, the African civet will then scarf down the food with little chewing in a very short period of time. (Estes, 1991). This enables them to eat quickly and keep moving so that they are not targeted for prey.
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Predation:
The African civet’s predators include lions, hyenas, and leopards. These predators are not as lethal to the African civet as humans are. Humans will kill civets for their meat and revenge for killing farm animals and ruining gardens. African civets are also picked off by cars readily (Kingdon, 1977). The African civet is a cat that is notorious for crop raiding. The farmer’s get their revenge by killing the African civet for crop raiding. Animals account for $200-400 worth of damage a year in African countries. That is huge seeing that monthly income is averaged between $25-35 per month. Economically, crop raiding is a huge problem in Africa and the African civet’s lives are normally taken for their practice of crop raiding ( Sillero-Zubiri, 2001).
When the animal is tense or afraid and needs to avoid predation, the civet will walk with its heads drooped and very close to the ground with the tail parallel to the back. This is so that the civet can move around freely with out being noticed because the coloring of their backs and tails are outstanding camouflage (Kingdon, 1977). The white of the face can not be seen by predators when the civet is in this position (Estes, 1991). The African civet can usually rely on this camouflage to sneak away from their predators, but occasionally they have to gallop into the woods for protection. They can also make the hair on their backs strand up so that their bodies double in size and will vocally growl to help scare off unwelcome predators (Kingdon, 1977). The species will also immediately lie down and stare at the predator for about 2 seconds before lowering its head and disappearing from view if it is startled or caught by surprise. This usually ends with the predator not being able to locate the civet because of its excellent camouflage (Gunderson, 1976).
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