Chinchillas and nutrias are obtained from South America, whence come also civet cats, jaguars, ocelots and pumas.
Civets are characterized by the possession of a deep pouch in the neighbourhood of the genital organs, into which the substance known as civet is poured from the glands by which it is secreted.
In a state of captivity the civet is never completely tamed, and only kept for the sake of its perfume, which is obtained in largest quantity from the male, especially when in good condition and subjected to irritation, being scraped from the pouch with a small spoon usually twice a week.
In confinement, it becomes comparatively tame, and yields civet in considerable quantity.
It is smaller than the true civet, and wants the dorsal crest.
Possible wildlife sightings include sambar, porcupine, palm civet, small Indian civet and barking deer.
The African civet (Viverra civetta) is from 2 to 3 ft.
The animal excreta, musk and civet, also enter into the composition of modern European pastils and clous fumants.
The chief articles of export are coffee, skins, ivory, civet, ostrich feathers, gum, pepper, kat plant (used by Moslems for its stimulating properties), gold (in small quantities) and live stock.
The civet is found in many parts of Abyssinia, but chiefly in the Galla regions.
The grateful perfumed powder abir or rand y is composed either of rice, flour, mango bark or deodar wood, camphor and aniseed, or of sandalwood or wood aloes, and zerumbet, zedoary, rose flowers, camphor and civet.
The lion is now only found in the northern parts of Futa Jallon; panthers, leopards, hyenas and wild cats are more common and the civet is found.
The porcupine, the squirrel, the civet cat, the ichneumon and the otter are common.
The small Indian civet or rasse (Viverricula malaccensis) ranges from Madagascar through India to China, the Malay Peninsula, and the islands of the Archipelago.
The source of the SARS virus was revealed this week to be the masked palm civet.
The wild animals include the elephant, still found in large numbers, the leopard, panther, chimpanzee, grey monkeys, antelope of various kinds, the buffalo, wild hog, bush goat, bush pig, sloth, civet and squirrel.