The African civet is a large viverrid native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is considered common and widely distributed in woodlands and secondary forests. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008. In some countries, it is threatened by hunting, and wild-caught individuals are kept for producing civetone for the perfume industry.
African civet
Skull
Head of African civet
Viverridae is a family of small to medium-sized, feliform mammals. The viverrids comprise 33 species placed in 14 genera. This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821. Viverrids occur all over Africa, southern Europe, and South and Southeast Asia, across the Wallace Line.
Viverridae
Binturong (Arctictis binturong) on display at the Museum of Osteology
Image: Large Indian Civet, Viverra zibetha in Kaeng Krachan national park
Image: Small Indian Civet, Silchar, Assam, India