Common Genet

• For all that it looks like a cat, it belongs to the family Viverridae, not to the cats.
• It was introduced to Europe from Africa, possibly by the Phoenicians or the Arabs.
• It eats small mammals, birds, insects, fruit and fungi.
• taxonomíaIt looks like a cat but is more closely related to mongooses and civets; in parts of Africa it has been partly tamed to keep rodents down.
• locomociónIt climbs and moves along slender branches with great agility, using its long tail as a counterweight even though it is not prehensile.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat & environment

Mediterranean woodland, scrub and rocky ground of the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa and much of sub-Saharan Africa

Birth weight

60 - 85 grams

Size at birth

Blind and wholly helpless at birth

Sexual maturity

2 years (though some sources suggest maturity may come earlier)

Gestation / incubation

10-11 weeks (~70-77 days)

Litter / clutch size

1 to 4 young per litter (most commonly 2-3), up to 2 litters per year

Lifespan in captivity

Documented record of 22.7 years in captivity

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Potawatomi Zoo; The Animal Facts; Animal Diversity Web; AnimalHub; Animalia.bio; Wikipedia (Common genet)

Best time: All year round, at night; in the Iberian Peninsula it is readily detected by its communal latrines on rocks, logs and branches.