GENETS Poetry in motion

Because of the many similarities that genets share with felines (Felidae), you could be excused for believing that they were members of the cat family. Like cats, they have soft silky fur, paws which resemble those of cats, and retractable claws. Their demeanour is cat-like too – rather shy and retiring, and ultra-stealthy in their hunting techniques. Prey selection is also similar to the smaller cat species. But despite these shared characteristics, they are in fact placed in the family Viverridae which, rather surprisingly, means their closest relatives are civets and mongooses.

The phylogenetic relationships between the various species of genet seem to be still a little unclear. Up to 15 species in the genus have been described, many of which have very limited distributions, which are determined by their