Large-Spotted (Rusty-Spotted) Genet
Large Spotted Genet at a Glance
On a night drive, the large-spotted genet is often just a spotted body and a long, banded tail disappearing along a branch. This slender, nocturnal carnivore belongs to the civet and genet family (Viverridae). It has a pointed muzzle, a pale coat with bold dark spots and a tail it uses for balance. Agile and cat-like, it hunts along thickets and rests or forages in trees, especially on warm nights. Its heavier relative, the African civet, by contrast, spends most of its time on the ground.
This is another one of our nocturnal animals. These creatures are very shy and are one of the animals that many people hope to see while doing a sunset or night drive in the Kruger National Park. There are a few camps in the park where one may be lucky enough to spot them. The first is Berg-en-Dal Camp. If one gets up early in the morning and listens carefully for rustling in the trees, one can sometimes spot them moving through the branches as they head back to their hiding places for the daytime. The second camp is Letaba Rest Camp. There is a group of genets living in the roof area near the restaurant. If one goes for dinner around sunset, one might be lucky enough to see one peeking out from the holes near the leadwood support beams before heading out for the night to forage. The last camp where I often look for them is Punda Maria, usually during the late evenings or early mornings, again listening for rustling in the trees and using a spotlight to help locate them.
- Mary-Anne Finlay - Tour Guide Since 2006 (THETA Registration No: GP 2432)
The genet of Kruger is the rusty-spotted genet. It was long lumped with the Cape genet (Genetta tigrina) of the southern and western Cape as the large-spotted genet; the two have been separate species since 2005. In South Africa it is common in the wetter east, from the Lowveld through Mpumalanga and Limpopo to KwaZulu-Natal, with an estimated 10,000 in the country. Further north it ranges widely through sub-Saharan Africa but avoids dry country, including central and southern Namibia and most of Botswana.
Conservation Status
The large-spotted genet is listed as Least Concern. It is often recorded in protected areas and adapts to a mix of natural and farmed land. Populations are stable wherever there is cover and prey.
Habitat
It prefers evergreen and deciduous woodland, above all the dense riverine forest along perennial rivers, and hunts along edges where woodland borders grassland or farmland and prey is plentiful. The diet is varied: small mammals and reptiles, birds, insects, scorpions and fruit. Genets forage from dusk through the night and use trees for resting and hunting.
Social Organization
Genets are mostly solitary. Male and female home ranges may overlap, and a female may be seen with her young. Home-range size depends on habitat and prey; males range more widely than females.
Finest Safari Areas in Africa for Encountering Large-Spotted Genet
Night drives are the way to see genets; Timbavati and Madikwe guides find them regularly with a spotlight, and in Kruger it pays to check the camps after dark.
Social Behavior
Scent marks of urine, droppings and gland secretions signal presence, sex and breeding condition. Genets re-mark the same spots along their paths and den trees. They growl and grunt at close range, and when disturbed raise their hair to look bigger.
Reproduction
In southern Africa, most births fall in the summer months. Litters of two or three kittens follow a gestation of about 70–77 days. Females can breed from about two years of age.
Anti-Predator Behavior
When threatened, a genet may release a strong-smelling secretion, arch its back, fluff up its tail and growl. Its main defense is a quick retreat into dense cover or up a tree, where its agility and long tail help it escape.