Chimp & See Talk

civet? genet?

  • Snorticus by Snorticus

    Is there a specific marking that differentiates a civet from a genet? Unsure how to mark these spotted creatures with striped tails.

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    I believe that some of the differences in markings are the colors, which won't help much since they are primarily seen in night vision. The way I tell them apart is by body shape and fur. The civet is larger, with fluffier fur. The genet is longer and sleeker.

    Genet:

    Genet

    Genet2

    Civet:

    Civet

    Civet2

    If you're not sure, but want to tag it somehow, they are both in the viverrid family, and that is an established tag for all varieties of both. Hope that helps!

    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus in response to ksigler's comment.

    Thanks, I'll keep that in mind and use #viverrid when unsure.

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    That is a great solution - thanks guys!

    Posted

  • yshish by yshish moderator in response to ksigler's comment.

    It is actually a bit more complicated since there are more species present. I haven't found a better overview than this one (the drawings don't look realistic enough but you can search their photos.)

    x

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator in response to yshish's comment.

    Oh yes, totally agree. I know there are smaller and larger species and sub-species that break my rule of thumb, especially outside of this area. And I don't know about gender differences at all. If you have good identification tips for the ones we're seeing, I'd be interested to read them. I haven't seen very many clips tagged that specifically, beyond "civet" or "genet," to demonstrate how to categorize them further.

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    Do you think this could be an African Palm Civet: ACP0004ldh?

    enter image description here

    I also wondered (after seeing that vertical tail position) if ACP0004jun could also be a palm civet?

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    Also, for anyone coming to this thread looking for how to tell apart a genet and an African Civet (not an African Palm Civet), I think the tail is very helpful. Both genets and civets have black dorsal stripes, but it's thicker on the civet and continues down the tail. A civet tail also has only a few rings before it becomes solid black. Genets have no dorsal stripe on the tail, and the rings continue to the end. Genets also have longer, thinner, and more flexible tails.

    Posted

  • jwidness by jwidness moderator

    I believe these are also videos of an african palm civet:

    ACP0005fpf, ACP0005fpj, ACP0005fpk, ACP0005fpl, ACP0005fpm, ACP0005fqv, ACP0005g75

    Posted

  • Mear48 by Mear48

    O just seen a civet but didn't know how to record it, I just put other. Is there any way of viewing videos again?

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator in response to Mear48's comment.

    You can view it again, but you can't change how you classified it. However, many answers are combined to form the final classification, so a few wrong ones here or there don't hurt anything. If you'd like, you can add a comment or hashtag to the video clip with any additional information that you have. To see the clips you've recently classified:

    1. Go the your profile page: http://www.chimpandsee.org/#/profile
    2. Above the video clips, on the left, make sure Recent is highlighted.
    3. Hover or click the video you're looking for, and a set of icons will roll down from the top.
    4. Click the last icon, 2 speech bubbles, which will take you to the Talk page for the video clip.
    5. On the Talk page, add your comments in the box below the video, on the left.

    😃

    Posted

  • yshish by yshish moderator

    Here are some nice video records of the African Palm Civet for a comparison to Genets (all the Genet species have a dark stripe along the spine, unlike the African Palm Civets.

    http://www.davidrobertmills.com/research/forest-carnivores/africanpalmcivet


    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus in response to yshish's comment.

    Wow, so handsome in color rather than B &W night clips! Will have to watch for that grabbing ability they have. Thanks @yshish

    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus in response to yshish's comment.

    Also wish our capture-cam images were as stupendous as this photographer's images - it would make IDing chimps a snap! 😃

    Posted

  • DZM by DZM admin

    Yeah, come on, science team, get those HD cameras out there! 😃 (Teasing!)

    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus

    Ha ha @DZM, maybe some bazillionaire will hear ebout chimp and see and donate some HD cameras - because science about chimps is just so cool. 😄

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    I think it's just still photography that's in color, using the flash, correct? Even that guy's video is night vision. But I'm sure they'd welcome any and all grants for new equipment. (Or C&S volunteer stipends...)

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator

    Hi everyone - actually we do have HD cameras up and some of the video you have seen has been HD 😃 But for sure these photos look better because they are stills, have flash (we don't take anything with flash) and don't seem to be taken in the most humid of environments (and not a lot of understory either). But for sure we are always looking for more funding and would be happy to get more HD cameras! (we could then have 1 on video and 1 on photo mode 😉 )

    Posted

  • ksigler by ksigler moderator

    Flash photography at night can be distressing for wildlife that rely on their night vision for survival (think of how blinding it can be for us). And I don't know if there are any in this region, but it can be even more disruptive to the behaviors of insects that use bioluminescence, like fireflies. I do some nature photography, and whenever possible, I try to use natural light + camera settings, night mode, or a steady indirect light that the animals' eyes can adjust to.

    Posted

  • MimiA by MimiA scientist, moderator in response to ksigler's comment.

    Great points @ksigler!

    Posted

  • lbastin by lbastin

    i have seen one not sure how to show image

    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus

    Hi @lbastan here is a discussion about posting images.

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator in response to lbastin's comment.

    Hi @lbastin,

    if you want to show us your picture / video, you can go into your classification profile: https://www.chimpandsee.org/#/profile where you find all your classified videos. To open the one you want to talk about again you click on the two speech bubbles (upper bar, on the right, as on the image below).

    enter image description here

    The video opens and you can just write a comment or insert the video ID ACP000XXXX here in the discussion (it will link automatically). That would be the easiest to discuss your finding.

    Thanks a lot!

    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus in response to AnLand's comment.

    Upps, thanks @AnLand That is a much easier solution!

    Posted