C. c. civetta (Schreber, 1776) C. c. congica Cabrera, 1929 C. c. schwarzi Cabrera, 1929 C. c. australis Lundholm, 1955 C. c. volkmanni Lundholm, 1955 C. c. pauli Kock, Künzel and Rayaleh, 2000 The African civet (Civettictis civetta) is a large viverrid native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is considered common and widely distributed in woodlands and secondary forests.

It is a solitary mammal with a unique coloration: the black and white blotches covering its coarse pelage and rings on the tail are an effective cryptic pattern.

[5] Viverra civetta was the scientific name introduced in 1776 by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber when he described African civets based on previous descriptions and accounts.

[2] In 1915, Reginald Innes Pocock described the structural differences between feet of African and large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha) specimens in the zoological collection of the Natural History Museum, London.

[7] The following subspecies were proposed in the 20th century: A 1969 study noted that this civet showed enough differences from the rest of the viverrines in terms of dentition to be classified under its own genus.

[13] The African civet has a coarse and wiry fur that varies in colour from white to creamy yellow to reddish on the back.

Horizontal lines are prominent on the hind limbs, spots are normally present on its midsection and fade into vertical stripes above the forelimbs.

[19] African civets typically sleep during the day in the tall grasses near water sources in central and southern Africa.

[21] In Batéké Plateau National Park, it was recorded in gallery forest along the Mpassa River during surveys conducted between June 2014 and May 2015.

[30] If an African civet feels threatened, it raises its dorsal crest to make itself look larger and thus more formidable and dangerous to attack.

It feeds on rodents like giant pouched rats (Cricetomys), Temminck's mouse (Mus musculoides), Tullberg's soft-furred mouse (Praomys tulbergi), greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus), and typical striped grass mouse (Lemniscomys striatus), amphibians and small reptiles like Hallowell's toad (Amietophrynus maculatus), herald snake (Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia), black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis), common agama (Agama agama), and Mabuya skinks, birds, millipedes, and insects such as Orthoptera, Coleoptera, and Blattodea, as well as carrion, eggs, fruits (such as Strychnos), berries and seeds.

[19] In Southern Africa, African civets probably mate from October to November, and females give birth in the rainy season between January and February.

[38] Skins and skulls of African civets were found in 2007 at the Dantokpa Market in southern Benin, where it was among the most expensive small carnivores.

Local hunters considered it a rare species, indicating that the population declined due to hunting for trade as bushmeat.

This secretion is a white or yellow waxy substance called civetone, which has been used as a basic ingredient for many perfumes for hundreds of years.

[41] The population of African civet in Botswana is listed under Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).