. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 140 THE BEASTS OF PREY. Structure The African Civet {Viverra civetta) of the African attains the size of the average Dog, Civet. but its looks are feline and its whole appearance reminds one very much of a Cat, al- though it has also many points of resemblance to a Weasel. The broad, rounded head ends in a rather pointed snout; the ears are also pointed and the eyes, which have round pupils, are obliquely placed in the face. The body is elongated but not particu- larly slender, being among the stoutest in this group; the tail is ab
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 140 THE BEASTS OF PREY. Structure The African Civet {Viverra civetta) of the African attains the size of the average Dog, Civet. but its looks are feline and its whole appearance reminds one very much of a Cat, al- though it has also many points of resemblance to a Weasel. The broad, rounded head ends in a rather pointed snout; the ears are also pointed and the eyes, which have round pupils, are obliquely placed in the face. The body is elongated but not particu- larly slender, being among the stoutest in this group; the tail is about half the length of the body; the legs are of medium length and the soles are entirely covered with hair. The fur is not very long, but thick and coarse ; a rather long mane or crest, which the animal can erect at will, extends along the neck and spine and is still perceptible on the tail. The ground-color is a beautiful ashen-gray merging into yellow, and shows numerous irregular black-brown spots, which on the hind legs form distinct stripes. The crest or mane is brownish-black, and the under In captivity it is kept in special stables or cages and is fed with meat and poultry. When taken young it not only bears the loss of its liberty much better than when captured old, but soon gets tame and familiar. The strong odor of musk which cap- tive Civets give forth renders them almost unbear- able to people with sensitive olfactory nerves. African Civets Alpinus saw Civets kept in iron Valued cages by Jews in Cairo. They for their Perfume, ^i^ere fed exclusively with meat to^ increase their production of civet and render them a profitable investment. In his presence some civet was extracted from them and he had to pay an ex- tremely high price for it. • These animals were at one time kept for this purpose in European cities also, like Lisbon, Naples, Rome, Venice, and even in Ger- many, and especially in Holland. To obtain the perfume, the animal is tied to the stakes of its c
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
