Genetta angolensis
| Linguistics |
| Actual scientific name : |
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Genetta angolensis |
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| Old scientific name : |
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| French name : |
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Genette d'Angola |
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| English name : |
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Angolan Genet |
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| Vernacular name : |
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| Mukenge, kasimba, nshimba (Kiluba); mbala (Kisonge); Nshimba (Kikaonde); Nshimba (Kilala) ; Inshimba, insimba (Kilamba); nshimba, chimona (Lunda) ; inshimba, nshimba (Kibemba) ; kanu (Kiswahili) | |
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| Zoology |
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| Description : |
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Length: about 80 cm (with a tail of 40 cm); weight: around 2 kg. Body is slender. Legs are short. Tail is long. Ears are prominent. Feet have 5 digits with short, curved and semi retractile claws. There is dark spinal hair crest made of long and erectile hair. Coat is soft, short, reddish-grey or dark grey with blackish spots. On each side of the dorsal crest, five longitudinal bands formed by dark spots, extend over the neck and the back. Stomach is not speckled and is lighter. Tail is bushy and marked with 8 black rings. Face is grey, with a white chin and a black band on the forehead and on the nose. There are anal and perineal glands. |
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| Habitat : |
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Forests and savannah.
Common in Katanga. |
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| Behaviour : |
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Nocturnal, solitary and mainly arboreal. During day, rests in hollow trees, abandoned dens or cracks of rocks. Like all the genets, it is a good climber. Its sense of smell is very developed. It deposits its faeces at regular latrines. Marks its territory by rubbing the secretions from its anal bags on surrounding objects. When disturbed, erect the hair along its spinal crest and arches its back, appearing larger. When in danger, the genet emits foul-smelling anal secretions, spits and hisses. When lies in wait, it crawls on the ground. Able to steal in any opening big enough to let its head through. Average lifespan: 10 years. |
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| Diet : |
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Small animals such as rodents and hares, reptiles, insects and fruits. |
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| Life history : |
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After about 70 days of gestation, females give birth to 1 to 4 young. |
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| Distribution in Katanga : |
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| History, Ethnology, Sociology |
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Readily attack poultry. |
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| Fishing, hunting : |
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| Feeding : |
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Consumed and appreciated for its fatty meat. |
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| Breeding, taming : |
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Easily tamed. |
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| Uses of skin or other body parts : |
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Skins are very valued as decoration of traditional costumes. |
Warning :
This database was established according to official pieces of work and with the help of famous scientists. However, there might be some errors.
The vernacular names were collected in the field and in the colonial literature from the first part of the 20th century. The monks who established the first dictionaries were not necessarily informed naturalists. Therefore, errors must have been committed.
We invite everyone who could help us to improve this working tool to contact us in order to correct us and share her/his knowledge with us.
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