(Permission on photo Pending) Home Range
Although it is debated, from the research I have done and going by our classes definitions of a home range and territory, the African civet occupies a home range. The African Civet's average home range encompassed 7.6 km^2 with a very small core area at 0.4 km^2 (Admasu, 2004). Seeing that the African civet eats a wide variety of food and do not have a specified sleeping area, it makes sense that they would occupy a home range. It would not be energetically beneficial for them to defend a territory because of those reasons. They are also solitary creatures, so they must roam to find mates and living in a territory would not allow for multiple African civets to be able to find each other. In the civet’s home ranges, there is some overlapping and extension in ranges between males and females during sexual activity so that chances of encountering a mate is increased (Kingdon, 1977).
Two glands, the perineal gland and the anal sac, are used to mark inside the African civet’s home range. Reasons for these markings are also debated, but from the research I have done, I can conclude that these markings serve several functions. They allow the African civet to communicate with other individuals of the same species sexually, it helps them find their way around their own ranges since they have poor eyesight, and helps other animals recognize the range that the African civet is occupying.
To mark with the perineal gland, a civet will back up to an object, raise its tail, and rub the gland onto the surface leaving a whitish-yellow secretion about 30-37 cm up on the object. This mark will leave a musky odor for at least a couple of months. The civets do not mark as often in their own ranges, but if they leave their range, they go into a frenzy of marking. The increase in marking could be interpreted as the species trying to make the area familiar to them by olfactory labeling as well as sexual and hormonal information. It could also give the animal a sense of security and confidence in its new area (Randall, 1979). So, the musk is not used for marking a boundary or a territoreal edge. It is an olfactory signal used in the home range for security and familiarity to the area.
The anal sacs open via ducts in the anus as opposed to the outside, as most carnivores do. The secretions from the anal sac are mixed with feces for communication through the fecal matter (Randall, 1979). In the middle of the range in the core area is a dung pile that all civets use for defecation. These sites known as latrines or civitries. The individual always use the same site and will not use another civet ’s site. The anal gland secretions in the feces causes a long lasting, potent smell. The civitiries are situated along roads and trails that are used as routes for movement. These sites may serve as centers for communication since animals will come to the sites without defecating (Ray, 1995). Often, an individual will smell another pile. This could mean that they are getting information about the owner of the site through their olfactory sense. It has also been presumed that the dung piles are used to represent their ranges because they can be seen for distances in flat areas by other species and African civets (Kingdon, 1977). This could help other African civet’s locate mates or serve as a range marking site for the occupier of the range. It could help them move around their range without getting lost.