The flexibility and agility of the marten together with the habits and character of the cat.
An incredibly agile, cunning and very curious animal with big eyes and a huge fluffy tail.
The hero of today's video loves to play cat and mouse, is fond of rock climbing and pokes
his wet nose everywhere. Today we will get acquainted with genet - an unusual animal
with a very memorable appearance. Let's begin. Genet is a carnivorous mammal of the civerrids
family. In the Middle Ages, these animals were popular pets until cats took their place. The
historical homeland of the genet is Savannah and the tropical forests of Africa, but today
the animal also lives in southern Asia, and even in Europe, especially in Spain and France.
The genet genus has 14 species that differ not only in habitat, but also in size,
fur color and spotted pattern. But they all have an elongated and incredibly flexible body
with a length of 40 to 60 centimeters, excluding an equally long tail, reaching 53 centimeters.
The genet weighs only one to two kilograms despite its size. Outwardly, she resembles
a cat to many: relatively short legs, a small head, a long sharp muzzle, large rounded ears
and incredibly large eyes with vertical pupils like those of cats. Short, but very thick wool
warms animals not only on cool nights, but also prevents them from freezing during frosts.
Genet expresses its emotions with meows, hiss and rumblings.
Typical predator habitats abound with forests, shrubs and tall grass. These
animals don't like dry areas and prefer to settle near fresh water bodies.
Genet uses abandoned burrows of other animals or crevices between
stones as a dwelling, and she also feels great in tree hollows.
Usually, the animal sleeps in a shelter during the day and goes in search of food only at nightfall.
Strong legs and retractable claws allow genet to climb the tallest trees with ease.
A long tail plays a significant role in such dangerous activities,
which helps maintain balance even in an extremely precarious position.
In addition, the genet easily stands on its hind legs, becoming like a meerkat.
A large part of the genet's diet consists of fruits,
but often her predatory character is manifested. Birds, insects and reptiles become prey,
but the favorite delicacy of the animal is small mammals, in particular, rodents.
Sensitive hearing and large eyes help not only navigate in the dark, but also track down prey.
Even the slightest rustle can betray a future victim. When the genet has fixed the target,
she tries to get as close as possible without giving away her presence.
At dusk, the camouflage color makes her real invisible. The predator chooses the right moment,
overtakes the victim with an aimed jump and immediately proceeds to the meal.
The slender and flexible body of the genet allows her to penetrate into the most inaccessible places
where the desired prey can hide. A young genet, in search of food, stumbles upon a salamander,
but even an inexperienced predator is alarmed by the black yellow color of the amphibian.
Salamander venom is toxic. It causes convulsions and paralysis by its action. This dose is not
dangerous for humans, but small mammals are better off staying away from the salamander.
Instincts tell genet that she'd better look for someone less flamboyant for lunch.
It prefers to live in areas with dense vegetation, such as bushes, thickets, and evergreen oak
forests. As resting sites it uses trees with dense foliage in the canopy and dense thickets overgrown
with climbing plants. In northern areas, it prefers low altitudes with high temperatures and
low rainfall. In the Manzanares Park in central Spain, it lives foremost in areas of 1,000–1,200
meters elevation with many rocks and shrubs. It tolerates proximity to settlements.
Genets, like cats, are solitary. Each animal has its own territory. They meet with females only
twice a year for procreation. Usually offspring number from one to four babies. They feed on
mother's milk for the first months of life, gaining independence only at the age of 8 months.
One-year-old genets leave their mother and go on their own journey.
Animals live on average up to 10 years, although in captivity they can live for more than 15 years.
The life of predators in the wild is full of dangers, because they need not only to
constantly get food, but also to avoid meeting with more dangerous hunters. The natural enemies
of the genet are large owls and wild cats such as the leopard, serval or caracal. But amazing
dexterity and natural caution allows you to often avoid dangerous encounters, although sometimes
innate curiosity can play a cruel joke. The viper venom will easily kill an animal
of this size. But in this case, the meeting ends only with a warning.
In this episode, the genet faced its closest competitor, the marten, because they have
approximately the same size and weight, and also have a similar diet. However, the animals
show no aggression. We see that only curiosity drives them. But when it comes to tidbits,
conflict can erupt between predators. Genet doesn't dare to attack for a long time,
waiting for the right moment, but her attempt is quickly stopped.
Genet often settles near villages and in search of food
can easily look into a chicken coop or a dovecote.
In case of danger, the animal raises the wool on end and, like a skunk, releases a little liquid
with the smell of musk. Probably genets as pets gave way to domestic cats because of this feature.
The animal is very easily accustomed, and in Africa they are often kept to fight rats and mice,
which they easily exterminate. In the rest of the world, this is a rather exotic pet.
By the way, genets are very clean animals that can be easily tamed to the tray.
In addition, they are active and playful and get along well with other pets,
especially cats that are close in character.