Carnivores: Aardwolf African Wild Cat African Wild Dog Banded Mongoose Bat Eared Fox Black-backed Jackal Brown Hyena Cape Clawless Otter Cape Fox Caracal Cheetah Civet Dhole Large Spotted Genet Golden Jackal Honey badger Jaguar Leopard African Lion Asiatic Lion Sand Cat Serval Side Striped Jackal Snow Leopard Spotted Hyena Striped Hyena Suricate (Meercat) Tiger White Tailed Mongoose Yellow Mongoose
The Genet is a small cat-like creature. Their bodies are long and slender. They have short legs and long tails. They stand around 18-25cm in height at the shoulder and have a body length of 80-110cm plus a tail length of 40-50cm. Their faces are characterised by their fairly long snouts. Their coat is spotted and they have alternating dark and light rings around their tails. The large spotted Genet has a dark tip to its tail (whereas the small spotted genet or common genet, has a light tip to its tail.
The Genet is primarily nocturnal. Genets are excellent climbers and their long tails help their balance when climbing. They are normally solitary but occasionally are seen in pairs. It is believed that only the females mark and hold territories. These are marked with strong smelling secretions from their anal glands as well as urine and my scratching trees. During the day they rest up under piles of brush, in holes in trees, or in vacant burrows made by other animals such as the aardvark.
Large Spotted Genets eat insects and other invertebrates such as scorpions, spiders and millipedes, as well as amphibians, reptiles, birds, rodents and other small mammals up to the size of hares. Rats and other rodents make up a significant percentage of their diet. Genets occasionally kill poultry.
Large Spotted Genets in Southern Africa normally only breed during the summer but in other parts of Africa they are reported to breed twice a year. After a gestation period of around 65 days they give birth to between 1 and 4 young. The kittens are born blind and helpless. At six months of age they are independent, and by one year of age they are fully mature and able to reproduce.
Genets are killed by other nocturnal predators such as Serval, Caracal and Leopard as well as large owls. Kittens in the den are also at risk from Jackals, Civets and snakes.
The Large Spotted Genet is found along the south and east coastal areas of South Africa and in large parts of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Kenya, Rwanda and west across to west Africa. Large spotted genets prefer
Photo © Tanya Trevor Saunders
© Predator Conservation Trust.
