Mammals
Genet
Genetta · also called genets
A genet looks like someone stretched a cat and gave it a raccoon’s tail, and for good reason: it is not a cat at all, but a close relative of the civet, built for slipping through branches at speed with an extraordinarily long, ringed tail trailing for balance. Long before the domestic cat spread across Europe, some households kept genets half-tame for the same job — clearing out the mice.
Overview
Genets are the genus Genetta, about 17 slender, spotted, long-tailed carnivores related to civets in the family Viverridae, found across most of sub-Saharan Africa. They hunt rodents, birds, insects, and small reptiles at night, and an exceptionally long, boldly ringed tail helps balance their fast, agile movement through trees.
Africa’s carnivore in Europe
The common genet is also established wild in Spain, Portugal, and southern France, almost certainly introduced from North Africa centuries ago, possibly during the era of Moorish Iberia — making it one of the very few African-origin carnivorans living wild in Europe. Medieval artwork shows genets kept semi-tame in households for rodent control, a role the domestic cat only later took over more fully.
Built for the canopy
With a flexible spine, sharp semi-retractable claws, and that counterbalancing tail, genets are superb climbers and jumpers, moving through branches almost as confidently as on the ground.
Status
Least Concern for most species, including the adaptable common genet. Some forest specialists in Central and West Africa are less well studied and considered Near Threatened or Data Deficient, pressured by deforestation and local hunting.
Genet: common questions
What is the difference between a genet and a civet?
Both belong to the same family, Viverridae, and share a broadly similar elongated, low-slung body, but a genet is generally slimmer, has a more pointed, cat-like face, and is a noticeably more agile and confident climber, spending much more of its time in trees than most civets. A genet's tail is also typically longer relative to its body and more boldly ringed in black and white or dark bands. Civets tend to be a bit heavier-bodied, more ground-dwelling, and, in several species, are known for a stronger, more commercially significant scent-gland secretion than genets produce.
How did genets end up living wild in Europe?
The common genet is believed to have been brought to the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa by traders, sailors, or settlers at some point in the last one to two thousand years, quite possibly during the long period of Moorish presence in Spain and Portugal, though the exact timing and route are not fully certain. Once introduced, the species established a self-sustaining wild population that has persisted for centuries in Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France, making it one of only a small number of carnivoran species with an African origin now found living wild in Europe.
Were genets really kept as pets or working animals?
Historical and artistic evidence suggests that in parts of medieval Europe, genets were kept in a semi-domesticated state specifically for hunting mice and rats around the home, a role that largely predates the widespread keeping of domestic cats for the same purpose in some regions, and illustrated manuscripts and tapestries from the period sometimes depict collared genets in household scenes. Genets were never as fully domesticated as cats, and the practice appears to have faded as cats became more common and more effective, and genets are not conventional pets today, though some are kept by specialist exotic animal keepers.
How can you tell a genet from a domestic cat at a glance?
Despite a superficially similar size and a somewhat cat-like face, several features set a genet apart immediately. Its body is noticeably longer and lower to the ground, its muzzle is more pointed, its tail is disproportionately long, often as long as the rest of the body, and boldly ringed in contrasting bands, and its coat is typically spotted rather than plain or tabby-striped. A genet also moves with a distinctively fluid, low, weasel-like gait and is a far more accomplished climber and leaper than the average house cat, reflecting its very different evolutionary history within the carnivore order.