Common genet
Genetta genetta
— Where the name comes from
The name comes from the Arabic jarnayṭ through the Spanish gineta, and it is the same word behind the English genet. From the animal’s fur, or from its bearing, comes also the name of the jennet horse and of riding a la jineta, with short stirrups, which the Arabs brought to Spain — one word for a beast, a fur and a style of horsemanship.
— Facts
- Group
- Mammals · Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivores
- Habitat
- Mediterranean scrub, woodland, rocky ground, olive groves
- Range
- North and sub-Saharan Africa; in Europe Spain, Portugal and southern France
- Size
- 43–55 cm of body plus a tail nearly as long, 1.3–2.3 kg
- Diet
- Carnivore — rodents, birds, insects, fruit
- Lifespan
- 8 years in the wild, up to 20 in captivity
— Characteristics
- 01
It has retractile claws like a cat, though it is not related to cats.
- 02
The tail carries eight to ten dark rings and is as long as the body.
- 03
It is strictly nocturnal and an excellent climber.
— What sets it apart
The European population was not there; we brought it. The genets of Spain, Portugal and France descend from animals imported from the Maghreb, probably in the Islamic period and perhaps earlier, kept in houses as mousers before the domestic cat had fully spread. Then they escaped, or were let go, and became naturalised. It is one of the very few carnivores humans have introduced into Europe that has caused no disaster at all.
