Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores - African Civet

Trophic Level III: Omnivores and Small Carnivores
African Civet
Page 39

Civettictis civetta

Length: 68-95 cm (27-34")

Tail: 40-53 cm (16-20")

Weight: 7-20 kg (15-44 lb.)

Status: Not endangered; wide spread and common

Habitat: African civets are most abundant in forested and partly forested lands. They are also found around marshes. In savannas and plains, they frequent wooded water courses where there is sufficient cover. They like broken, gullied land too.

Food: Civets are omnivorous. They eat a wide variety of plants and animals. Included in the diet are vegetables, roots, fruits, berries, rodents, newborn antelopes, snakes, frogs, insects, centipedes, scorpions and carrion. The civet does not stalk or chase its food. It simply grabs anything that it stumbles upon. If the prey puts up a stubborn defense, the civet will go in search of more cooperative food.

Social System: The social system of the civet is probably very similar to that of the genet and leopard. A single male's range overlaps that of several females’ ranges. Civets generally lead a solitary life except when mating or when they have young. Whether males defend a territory, or simply mark their range without defending it, is not known.

Civets wander over their home range following established paths that they mark with secretions from their perineal glands. They don't have regular dens, preferring instead to lie up in hollow logs, unused aardvark dens or thick vegetation.

Behavior: The African civet is mainly nocturnal and seldom seen during the day.

They breed so that births coincide with the rainy season. Females give birth to between one and four young in a secluded den. The gestation period is around 80 days. Newborn civets' eyes open very soon after birth and they are able to crawl around. Within five days, they are walking. It will be two weeks before they venture out of the den.

Kittens are weaned by the time they are one month old. They are feeding entirely on solid food by the time they are 14 to 20 weeks old. Males are on their own by the time they are five months old. Females mate as yearlings.

Civets avoid each other unless their scent posts indicate that a female is looking for a mate. Even young civets are aggressive towards each other.

Predators: Spotted hyenas and leopards are probably the civet’s greatest enemies next to humans. Dogs also present a threat.

Select a Page:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50