African civets can reach a little over 2 feet in length, not counting their long tails that are approximately 1.5 feet long. They also stand at about 1.5 feet at shoulder height and weigh 15-40 pounds with the females being slightly smaller.

Each civet has a black mask around their eyes and a unique pattern of stripes and spots colored grey, black, cream, and white down their body and tail to assist in camouflaging.

In addition to their unique coloration, African civets also have crest that sticks straight up all the way down their back. When threatened, the African civet will fluff up the crest to appear larger.

Another identifying feature is the African civet’s non-retractable claws.

African civets are common throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. They usually live in woodlands, swamps, secondary forests, and more; essentially, any area with enough food, water, and shelter.

Even though African civets are in the Carnivora order, they are omnivorous. They have 40 impressive teeth used to consume birds, insects, reptiles, small mammals, and fruits and seeds. If an African civet lives near water, they may add crabs and fish to their diet. They are also known to eat the fruit of the Strychnos tree, which contains seeds toxic to humans.

Female African civets are polyestrous, which means they can have multiple litters in a year. Mother civets will carry their litter for a little over two months before giving birth to up to four babies. The babies are more advanced than other newborn mammals as they can already crawl and are fully covered in fur. Even though the babies can leave the nest after three weeks, they’ll still depend on their mother’s milk and protection for another few months.

African civets are nocturnal.

African civets are sometimes lumped in with cats, however, even though they are in the same suborder as felines, they further branch into the viverrids family, which includes mongooses and weasels, but not cats.

Besides using their crest to communicate, they also use a variety of vocalizations ranging from growls to laughing noises, as well as secreted odor markings.