Thanks to an alert gift shop visitor (Jackson Prause) and The Animal Diversity Web, we learned that this critter, which we had previously called a "civet cat," is actuall a small-spotted genet (Genetta genetta). We appreicate the information, and we also appreciate that this series of plastic animals is made accurately enough that someone could tell the difference! It's not perfect, as the small-spotted genet has a white tip on its tail, and the large-spotted genet has a black tip like this one. Speaking of tails, the tail on our plastic genet cat may look long, but real genets have tails at least as long as their bodies. Our plastic genet cat is hollow, light-weight, and sturdy. It is slightly bendable, but not posable. This plastic genet is great for school projects, toys, novelties, animal collections, party favors and more. Our plastic small-spotted genet is for decoration or play only. You can make a creative African forest or grassland shoebox diorama using this and other plastic creatures from our gift shop. Best of all, there is no mess, no feeding, and no tank or cage cleaning :) Be sure to look over our other genet toys.
The civet family (Viverridae) includes binturongs, civet cats, falanoucs, fossas, genet cats, linsangs, mongooses and meerkats (which are actually a type of mongoose). They are related to the cat family but are not actually cats. They do have a cat-like body, but with shorter legs and a longer tail. Their face resembles that of a weasel. These mostly nocturnal (active at night) mammals are native to Asia (including Indonesia and the Philippines), Africa (including Madagascar) and southern Europe. Some species are terrestrial (ground dwellers), but most are arboreal (tree dwellers); some are carnivores (eat only meat) and others are omnivores (eat fruits and vegetables as well as meat). Civet cats have scent-producing glands that secrete a musky-smelling substance which is used as a perfume fixative.
This species of genet cat is found throughout most of Southern Africa. For an excellent resource on these small mammals, take a look at Kruger National Park's small-spotted genet page.
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