African Civet

Civettictis civetta

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Cordats)
ClassMammalia (Mamífers)
OrderCarnivora (Carnívors)
FamilyViverridae (Civets, Genets, and Oyans)
GenusCivettictis (African Civets)
SpeciesCivettictis civetta (African Civet)

Insufficient data

overall probability at Ngorongoro Conservation Area

1 Verified records at Ngorongoro Conservation Area

☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's active Active throughout day and night

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 has been listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008. In some countries, it is threatened by hunting, and wild-caught individuals are kept for producing civetone for the perfume industry. The African civet is primarily nocturnal and spends the day sleeping in dense vegetation, but wakes up at sunset. 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. The black bands surrounding its eyes closely resemble those of the raccoon. Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Genetta genetta

Panthera leo

Crocuta crocuta

Canis lupaster

Acinonyx jubatus

Leptailurus serval

Panthera pardus

Mungos mungo

Otocyon megalotis

Caracal caracal

Helogale parvula

Mellivora capensis

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

📅 Monthly Probability

📊

Fewer than 5 records of African Civet at Ngorongoro Conservation Area — not enough to chart months honestly.

☀️🌙 When They're Spotted

Active throughout day and night · across all parks (global)

☀️🌙Day & Night

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Probability
1	Niokolo-Koba National Park	🇸🇳 Senegal	30–40%
2	Kafue National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	20–30%
3	Liwonde National Park	🇲🇼 Malawi	20–30%
4	South Luangwa National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	20–30%
5	Gorongosa National Park	🇲🇿 Mozambique	20–30%
6	Moremi Game Reserve	🇧🇼 Botswana	10–20%
7	Tarangire National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	5–10%
8	Kruger National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	5–10%
9	Lower Zambezi National Park	🇿🇲 Zambia	Insufficient data
10	Mana Pools National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	Insufficient data
11	Selous Game Reserve	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
12	Meru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	Insufficient data
13	Taï National Park	🇨🇮 Ivory Coast	Insufficient data
14	Kibale National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	Insufficient data
15	Bwindi Impenetrable National Park	🇺🇬 Uganda	Insufficient data
16	Ruaha National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
17	Mikumi National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
18	Gonarezhou National Park	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	Insufficient data
19	Amboseli National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	Insufficient data
20	Tsavo West National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	Insufficient data
21	Lake Manyara National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
22	Mkomazi National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
23	Samburu National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	Insufficient data
24	Chobe National Park	🇧🇼 Botswana	Insufficient data
25	Virunga National Park	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	Insufficient data
26	Tsavo East National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	Insufficient data
27	Ngorongoro Conservation Area	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data
28	Serengeti National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	Insufficient data

← Back to Ngorongoro Conservation Area

African Civet

Closest Relatives at Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Northern Small-spotted Genet

Lion

Spotted Hyena

African Golden Wolf

Cheetah

Serval

Leopard

Banded Mongoose

Bat-eared Fox

Caracal

Common Dwarf Mongoose

Honey Badger

📅 Monthly Probability

☀️🌙 When They're Spotted

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found